Shelton, Aram / Fast Citizens / Two Cities
Album: Two Cities   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Shelton, Aram / Fast Citizens   Added:Dec 2009
Label:Delmark Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2010-01-24 Pull Date: 2010-03-28 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Mar 28 Mar 14 Mar 7 Feb 21 Feb 14 Feb 7 Jan 31
Airplays: 1 1 1 1 1 2 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jun 22, 2010: Jena & Gomorrah
The Twenty-Seven
4. Mar 05, 2010: Memory Select, Other Minds edition
The Twenty-Seven
2. Mar 26, 2010: Memory Select, late edition
Big News
5. Feb 19, 2010: No Cover, No Minimum
Easy
3. Mar 12, 2010: Memory Select
Two Cities
6. Feb 12, 2010: No Cover, No Minimum
Western Promenade

Album Review
Fo
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

Track Listing
1. Two Cities   5. In Cycles
2. Big News   6. I Am Here, You Are There
3. Western Promenade   7. The Twenty-Seven
4. Vrc#9   8. Wontkins
  9. Easy