Ho, Fred & The Green Monster Big Band / Year Of The Tiger
Album: Year Of The Tiger   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Ho, Fred & The Green Monster Big Band   Added:Mar 2011
Label:Innova Recordings  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2011-03-20 Pull Date: 2011-05-22 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: May 8 May 1 Apr 24 Apr 10 Apr 3 Mar 27
Airplays: 2 1 4 1 2 3

Recent Airplay
1. Feb 12, 2022: Music Casserole
The Quick Of My Being
4. Dec 28, 2011: Morning Glory "Best Of 2011"
Bad (Very, Very Baaad!)
2. Feb 05, 2022: Everything
Fire
5. May 07, 2011: Music Casserole
Jonny Quest Theme
3. May 09, 2014: No Cover, No Minimum
Jonny Quest Theme
6. May 03, 2011: Bisous Bijoux
Bad (Very, Very Baaad!)

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2011-03-19
FRED HO’S GREEN MONSTER BIG BAND: Year of the Tiger
Innova, 2011

TWISTED BIG BAND – Baritone saxophonist Ho and a band stocked with talented avant-leaning players (Hafez Modirzadeh, Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynum, etc.) take on Michael Jackson and Jimi Hendrix in the first half of this surprising CD. The band has a crazed, lumpy sound, always several degrees “off” from where you expect them to be. The Hendrix tunes are amazing. The other highlight is “Take the Zen Train,” (7-12) a suite that’s Ho’s warped take on Ellingtonia by way of free jazz. Wild stuff.

Note: 2-4 are a medley, so the endings are very sudden.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11

1. 4:05 – action cartoon theme: rollicking, like a train about to jump the tracks
2. 5:05 – MJ 1: skewed soul w/nice fem vocals, dirty keyboard, trombone
3. 4:35 – MJ 2: rolling groove w/voc, frequent small breakdowns, hot horns
4. 11:08 – MJ 3: awkward start/end, but band is hot & spoken word is just insane
5. 3:33 – Jimi Hendrix soul warped & melted by wild horns, spanglish vox
6. 4:57 – Hendrix psychedelic march: layered vocal paranoia, riotous horns
7. 3:46 – swing fanfare falls apart, bari sax & trumpet scrawl all over walking bass
8. 2:28 – huge, lumbering theme teeters on the edge, threatens to topple over
9. 6:32 – heavy, slow-churn groove: solos flit and flare, warble and mope
10. 2:53 – hypnotic odd-meter spiral, charged with strange harmonies
11. 3:06 – slouching big band, Ellington harmonies after a few drinks too many
12. 3:22 – uptempo, careening with bubbly space guitar and tight horn turns
13. 6:02 – 2 choirs (kids & adults) sing martial arts anthem, then free jazz blowing
14. 8:00 – modern-operatic chorus over rolling jazz groove (Antony & Cleopatra)

[ Fo ] 03/19/11

Track Listing
1. Jonny Quest Theme   8. The Violence Of Virtuosity
2. This Place Hotel (Welcome To The Road Kill Cafe)   9. The Quick Of My Being
3. Bad (Very, Very Baaad!)   10. Optometry For The Vision-Less
4. Thriller (Super-Thriller)   11. Quarantine For The Aggressor
5. Fire   12. Beyond The Beyond
6. Purple Haze   13. Hero Among Heroes
7. Prelude To A Kiss-Off: No Baggage, Please!   14. Blazing On The Turquoise Sea