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Review:
Anomalous Quintet's Life on an Oblate Spheroid
Sheldon
T. Nunn, Jazzreview.com
Musicians are
definitely a breed apart, especially...
Musicians
are definitely a breed apart, especially those individuals who pursue jazz
as a profession and a way of life. Their world is a constant battle to stay
afloat in an ocean that is usually filled with obscurity. In most
instances, many will struggle just to get noticed, while others languish in
a genre that is seldom appreciated. But those jazz standard bearers who
succeed and become widely known get there through voracious tenacity, sheer
talent, luck and word of mouth. Those ingredients collectively have spawned
the careers of numerous artists and musicians through 100 years of artistic
impression, while others have fallen by the way side. But every now and
again, there comes an exceptional set of circumstances that defy the norm
of how jazz artists are discovered, especially when they seemingly glide
their way into familiarity. The Anomalous Quintet just happens to be one of
those groups who fit the category of having successfully maneuvered their
way through the obstacles. Having already recorded one CD, this group of
high octane professionals continues to evolve down a path of notoriety.
Life On An Oblate
Spheroid is the Anomalous Quintet's latest release and their second
recording overall. Although the group has a sound that is difficult to
classify, they use a variety of influences to push the envelope of jazz to
the hilt. With ideas etched in jazz, rock, fusion, blues and funk, their
style of music more closely resembles a straight-ahead approach. Having
said that, logic does not clearly define who these
dazzling group of guys are. Over ten entertaining tracks, the
elements of funk and circumstance, harmonic discourse, Latin-induced
grooves and soulful melodies come together under an immense umbrella of
syncopated rhythms. Although the group avoids the usual approach that most
jazz artists undertake to be discovered, which is described as the
so-called smooth/contemporary approach, Anomalous' music makes a statement
worth hearing. In retrospect, that could be why they are so popular
regionally and have such a cult following. They have made quite a name for
themselves in and around Portland
Oregon.
Led by guitarist Jason
Newsom, who formed the band in 1997, the Anomalous Quintet takes listeners
into the underexplored aspects of jazz.
Throughout Life On An Oblate Spheroid, there are abstract angles that have
been filled with colorful infusions of a variety of descriptive tones. In
the overall scheme of syncopated rhythmic responses to a classic American
art form, these five musicians shoot a variety of chords with pinpoint
accuracy. Their collective appeal revolves around the fact that their music
is fresh and innovative. No matter what the direction, the improvised use
of original compositions, coupled with a set of stylized covers are beyond
the scope of predictability. In the realm of creativity, the unprecedented
approach to fusing varying styles of jazz with any number of other musical
influences takes on an identity of its own.
With a stellar
cast of musicians, the echoes of Thelonious Monk,
Rufus, Sly and the Family Stone and Wayne Shorter are prominently dispersed
throughout Life On An Oblate Spheroid. With the addition of abstract super
imposed responses to everything musically equipped to be jazz, the
unexplored realm of creativity has been graphically displayed. The visual jazzscape painted by the Anomalous Quintet has an air
of sensibility attached, in spite of the group's unpredictable approach to
jazz. All-in-all, this is a CD that is definitely worth a listen.
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