Friday The 13th

Jazz | Dec 2010

Reviews

Fo
Reviewed 2010-12-31
THE MICROSCOPIC SEPTET: Friday the 13th
Cuneiform, 2010

MODERN JAZZ – This happy-go-lucky band from the “downtown” scene of the 1980s continues their ongoing reunion project with a set of Thelonious Monk tunes, mixing unrecorded arrangements from their original run with new material. Fun, freewheeling stuff, with plenty of Monk-isms. Should appeal to fans of modern bop and avant-jazz alike.

All pretty good. Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

1. 5:09 – brash take on a notoriously tricky tune: sax solos swing and bray
2. 5:45 – saunters in on oddball walking riff, layers pile up, then relaxed solos
3. 5:22 – goofy march with loosely unified horns; switches to breezy swing
4. 4:29 – big surf-rock beat vs. simple melody, sax solos take off & go nuts
5. 5:15 – languid ballad, nice Monkish harmony, short, sweet solos, weird end
6. 5:42 – happy swing with a few wacky touches, saxes warble and glide
7. 5:50 – upbeat New Orleans-style shuffle, perky sax solos, mellow bass
8. 4:34 – flouncy-bouncy little groove, kind of sneaky: horns trade short breaks
9. 3:37 – joyously swinging theme, breaks into various trios/quartets; great fun
10. 5:04 – relaxed pace, thick harmonies; piano trips along with soprano sax
11. 5:39 – cat-and-mouse horns over sneaky rhythms, flirts with skronk
12. 2:54 – brisk, frictionless glide; cartoony, a bit of Ellington in it too… nice

[ Fo ] 12/31/10

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Charting

2011-01-02 — 2011-03-06 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Mar 6 1
Feb 27 1
Feb 20 2
Feb 13 1
Feb 6 3
Jan 30 3
Jan 23 1
Jan 16 2

Track listing

1. Brilliant Corners
2. Friday The 13th
3. Gallop's Gallop
4. Teo
5. Pannonica
6. Evidence
7. We See
8. Off Minor
9. Bye-Ya
10. Worry Later
11. Misterioso
12. Epistrophy