Two Cities
Reviews
Fo
Reviewed 2010-01-24
Reviewed 2010-01-24
ARAM SHELTON’S FAST CITIZENS: Two Cities
Delmark, 2009
AVANT-GARDE – This impressive Chicago sextet brings some really interesting textures to bear with cello hovering between the horns and bass. Musically they’re vibrant and all over the place, slipping easily between oddball themes, straight-up jazz and free-blowing tangents.
Note: this band has rotating leadership: their first CD was under Keefe Jackson’s name. Also, Shelton lives in Oakland, hence “Two Cities.”
Aram Shelton: alto sax & clarinet
Keefe Jackson: tenor sax & bass clarinet
Josh Berman: cornet
Fred Lomberg-Holm: cello
Anton Hatwich: bass
Frank Rosaly: drums
* * * * | All good. Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9
1. 10:53 – rollicking theme collapses; aggressive sax vs. sawing cello over wild drums; fades and returns with exotic flavor, methodical cornet
2. 8:04 – cello intro; cool groove slides under chatty horns, great sax & drums
3. 9:01 – goofy theme; cornet/bass go walkin’, then clarinet; rolling drum solo
4. 4:07 – spinning minimalism w/circus-march flair, then silent pauses & stings
5. 9:09 – ponderous spiral theme; band creates unique spaces for each solo
6. 3:54 – slow, ballad-like calm with unusual harmonic texture, mournful sax
7. 7:56 – elastic intro, cornet & cello have it out, sax rolls over perky backing
8. 1:19 – whipped-up interlude: fun theme, free breaks, cut-off ending
9. 4:49 – great little spy-movie groove walks under sax solo, splinters apart
[ Fo ] 01/23/10
Delmark, 2009
AVANT-GARDE – This impressive Chicago sextet brings some really interesting textures to bear with cello hovering between the horns and bass. Musically they’re vibrant and all over the place, slipping easily between oddball themes, straight-up jazz and free-blowing tangents.
Note: this band has rotating leadership: their first CD was under Keefe Jackson’s name. Also, Shelton lives in Oakland, hence “Two Cities.”
Aram Shelton: alto sax & clarinet
Keefe Jackson: tenor sax & bass clarinet
Josh Berman: cornet
Fred Lomberg-Holm: cello
Anton Hatwich: bass
Frank Rosaly: drums
* * * * | All good. Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9
1. 10:53 – rollicking theme collapses; aggressive sax vs. sawing cello over wild drums; fades and returns with exotic flavor, methodical cornet
2. 8:04 – cello intro; cool groove slides under chatty horns, great sax & drums
3. 9:01 – goofy theme; cornet/bass go walkin’, then clarinet; rolling drum solo
4. 4:07 – spinning minimalism w/circus-march flair, then silent pauses & stings
5. 9:09 – ponderous spiral theme; band creates unique spaces for each solo
6. 3:54 – slow, ballad-like calm with unusual harmonic texture, mournful sax
7. 7:56 – elastic intro, cornet & cello have it out, sax rolls over perky backing
8. 1:19 – whipped-up interlude: fun theme, free breaks, cut-off ending
9. 4:49 – great little spy-movie groove walks under sax solo, splinters apart
[ Fo ] 01/23/10
Recent airplay
The Twenty-Seven
Jena & Gomorrah — Jun 22, 2010
Big News
Memory Select, late edition — Mar 26, 2010
Two Cities
Memory Select — Mar 12, 2010
The Twenty-Seven
Memory Select, Other Minds edition — Mar 05, 2010
Easy
No Cover, No Minimum — Feb 19, 2010
Western Promenade
No Cover, No Minimum — Feb 12, 2010
Charting
2010-01-24 — 2010-03-28
Jazz
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Mar 28 | 1 |
| Mar 14 | 1 |
| Mar 7 | 1 |
| Feb 21 | 1 |
| Feb 14 | 1 |
| Feb 7 | 2 |
| Jan 31 | 2 |
Track listing
| 1. | Two Cities | ||
| 2. | Big News | ||
| 3. | Western Promenade | ||
| 4. | Vrc#9 | ||
| 5. | In Cycles | ||
| 6. | I Am Here, You Are There | ||
| 7. | The Twenty-Seven | ||
| 8. | Wontkins | ||
| 9. | Easy |