New Folk, New Blues

Scott Rosenberg - sax
Jim Baker - piano, analog synth, aluminum foil
Anton Hatwich - bass
Tim Daisy - drums

An excellent mix of fast free jazz and wild improv ideas. Rosenberg's sax tends to get into extreme "out" sounds, but the drum and bass keep a jazz pace going, and Jim Baker's piano adds plenty of jazzy splash. As a treat, Baker also trots out analog synths for gloopy sci-fi color on #1 and 4. Exhiliarating stuff out of Chicago -- try the second half of #3 for a taste.

Side notes -- Baker and Daisy have been involved with various Ken Vandermark projects over the years. Check out the Baker/Zerang 2-CD set of piano-percussion duos if you dig his playing. Tim Daisy can be heard in a more straightforward jazz/soul context with the band Dragons 1975.

TRACKS:
1 (9:15)- Fast rolling jazz with glitchy synths. Slows at about -4:00 for a gradual, groany finish.

2 (23:47)- Some of the "straightest" jazz on the disk. Starts with controlled freeform wildness, coalescing into a free-jazz jam. Drum solo, then a fast bebop stride! Ends calmly.

3 (19:38)- Fast jazzy sound with excellent piano, into a quiet middle and a stormy climax

4 (15:01)- Fast tension; sci-fi pops. Abrasive. Last 5 minutes are an abstract jazz groove.