This Is Our Moosic

Free jazz... well, like Sinatra-era jazz (or old-timey stuff, on a couple of tracks) played by guys who grew up with punk rock in the water. Fast, dense, caffeinated. Peter Evans steals the show with his machine-gun trumpeting, but the other three players do a great job keeping the energy level redlined, even on the "slow" tracks. Plenty accessible and with plenty of humor; most tracks start from a nicely composed base and then fall apart rapidly. I've circled a few tracks, but you can't go wrong: Play them all.

The album cover, btw, is a copy of Ornette Coleman's "This Is Our Music," down to the bassist (Moppa Elliott -- or Charlie Haden, in Coleman's case) giving a sarcastic look that says he's about to kick someone's ass. Could be the photographer, could be YOU. It's a hilarious cover, and an inside photo on this CD has Elliott giving that look again, but with a baseball bat in hand. Very funny stuff; the pics alone let you know where this band is coming from.

Peter Evans (trumpet)
Kevin Shea (drums)
Jon Irabagon (sax)
Moppa Elliott (bass)

1- Swingy, catchy. Opens w/cool riff and heart-attack drums.
2- Old-timey swing. Brisk, upbeat, gets freer later.
3- Fast and slick, swingy. False start!
4- Slow (midtempo) waltz w/Spanish flare. Fast crazy solos, of course.
5- Kicks into fast soloing after a relatively laid-back start. Kind of mellow in the middle, too, before it ambushes you at the end.
6- Madcap, a touch of Spike Jones. After a totally free sax solo, lapses back into tuneful jazz.
7- Your parents' '50s swing, dissolving into fast chaos
8- Brash, brassy blues. A bit slower
9- OMG, it's Billy Joel's "Allentown," played straight up, complete with the "SHH! OOH! AAH!" effects. Ends with some goofy tweeting. Gloriously cheesy.

About that last track... the liner notes read: "Jon *loves* Billy Joel. That makes the rest of us a little bit uncomfortable..."