Slobber Pup: Black Aces

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Joe Morris (g)
Jamie Saft (p)
Balasz Pandi (d)
Trevor Dunn (b)

Label:

Rare Noise

July/2013

Catalogue Number:

RNRPR023

RecordDate:

date not stated

Here are four heavy-hitters with intertwined musical lives that dip in and out of several weird by-waters, taking in collaborations with avant-jazz avatar John Zorn, Japanese extreme-Noise guru Merzbow, and prog-metal behemoth Metallic Taste of Blood – among many others. Here, they concoct 100 per cent improvised onslaughts that seek to combine those three areas. Free-jazz guitarist – and, more lately, bassist – Joe Morris is an absolute revelation, dealing in flickering licks that range from bluesy Hendrixisms to the more frantic fusion of Larry Coryell, while Jamie Saft rolls out huge swells of Hammond organ that pick up the overblown vibe of Steve Winwood’s contribution to Hendrix’s full-length ‘Voodoo Chile’. At times, these jams generate such preposterous mass that the guitar and keys are in danger of being swamped by Dunn’s sludgy fuzz-bass and Pandi’s thuggish metal triplets, but in the more spacious moments – as on the title track – there’s a hint of Scorch Trio’s tough mobility. Zero points for subtlety, infinity points for white-out energy overload.

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