Tin Fish Tango

PLUNGE: Tin Fish Tango
Immersion, 2011

POSTMODERN JAZZ – Adventurous chamber jazz trio out of New Orleans: trombone, sax, bass (sax chair alternates; add sousaphone on 3,7). With no drums or chord voices, the sound is open and airy. But they still manage to build up catchy grooves, even as they calmly subvert them with slightly warped solos. Pretty good stuff here.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13

1. 4:16 – spare, midtempo tango: elegant theme, but brief solos twist it a little
2. 7:01 – upbeat little theme; oblique sax solo, relaxed trombone
3. 5:50 – sassy tuba groove: brief solos tossed around like a hot potato
4. 3:02 – uptempo improvisation: trombone gets squirrelly, sax wanders
5. 4:13 – catchy melody: a laid-back groove slouches and melts, slowly returns
6. 4:09 – upbeat start, bass steps out front and has plenty to do
7. 9:09 – angular stroll: bass has tough swagger, horn solos watch their step
8. 4:24 – slow/midtempo improvisation, slumped feel at first but brightens
9. 5:46 – lowdown creep: cool trombone with plunger, bluesy solos for all, coughs
10. 3:42 – relaxed, moody ballad: all move together in a molasses flow
11. 3:19 – snags on a series of little riffs, then wanders freely
12. 4:24 – dragging improvisation, picks up energy and a quasi-groove later on
13. 8:34 – bluesy stroll with a bit of attitude; sax is straight-up, trombone skews

[ Fo ] 02/20/11