Slon

Slon

Slon

ASIN: B00013VI4I

Track Listings
 
1. Protest
2. Slon
3. Zagreb
4. Sevens
5. Campbell Town
6. Kite
7. Palermo
8. Shoe Lace
9. Pear

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Originally known as the Chicago Underground Duo, their half dozen releases since 1997 have found them growing and contracting. Founding members Rob Mazurek (cornet and computer) and Chad Taylor (drums), along with Noel Kupersmith (bass and computer) are by turns funky and propulsive ("Shoe Lace"), mysterious and ethereal ("Kite"), and everything in between. On a piece like "Palermo" they sound like descendants of Eno, given extra heft with a foundation of solid drumming. They draw equally from sixties free jazz models as well as electronics. The latter element evokes both contemporary sonics as well as such earlier experimenters as Morton Subotnick. With Slon, C.U.T. are to be commended for shaping a true album experience. It's varied, flowing, and full of surprises. In addition, their acoustic and electric instruments blend with seamless organic logic, as bursts of a human lung-fueled horn springs out of the undulating rhythms and textures beneath. --David Greenberger

Slon,Chicago Underground Trio,Thrill Jockey,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Post-Bop
Slon
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Very good
  • music for rebellion
  • Electric jazz with soul
  • Electro-Jazz with soul
 Slon
Chicago Underground Trio
Manufacturer: Thrill Jockey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Bebop GeneralBebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Modern PostbebopModern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Flamethrower
  2. Possible Cube
  3. Like-Coping
  4. Playground
  5. Our Point of Departure

ASIN: B00013VI4I
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Tracks:

  1. Protest
  2. Slon
  3. Zagreb
  4. Sevens
  5. Campbell Town
  6. Kite
  7. Palermo
  8. Shoe Lace
  9. Pear

Amazon.com

Originally known as the Chicago Underground Duo, their half dozen releases since 1997 have found them growing and contracting. Founding members Rob Mazurek (cornet and computer) and Chad Taylor (drums), along with Noel Kupersmith (bass and computer) are by turns funky and propulsive ("Shoe Lace"), mysterious and ethereal ("Kite"), and everything in between. On a piece like "Palermo" they sound like descendants of Eno, given extra heft with a foundation of solid drumming. They draw equally from sixties free jazz models as well as electronics. The latter element evokes both contemporary sonics as well as such earlier experimenters as Morton Subotnick. With Slon, C.U.T. are to be commended for shaping a true album experience. It's varied, flowing, and full of surprises. In addition, their acoustic and electric instruments blend with seamless organic logic, as bursts of a human lung-fueled horn springs out of the undulating rhythms and textures beneath. --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Very good.......2005-12-23

Slon manages to balance jazz improvisation with electronics very nicely. Some of the improvisation is done with electronics, and sometimes the electronics is used to enhance the song. There are a few songs where there is too much synthesizer (Zagreb, Kite, Palermo), and not enough cornet, bass & drums. Some songs instead of acoustic drums have (obviously played, not programmed) bleeps and squaks driving the beat. Theres a free-ness to Rob Mazurak's playing, but there are no lack of themes and written-out parts. On the whole, it's a fresh-sounding, excellent jazz album.

5 out of 5 stars music for rebellion.......2004-09-12

The only liner note for SLON is this statement:

THIS MUSIC WAS DEVELOPED DURING OUR "NO WAR TOUR" IN EUROPE, APRIL 2003. THIS IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES AT THE HANDS OF U.S. IMPERIALISM.

SLON certainly kicks off appropriately, then, with a number called "Protest," which has a militant, funky beat. Rob Mazurek on cornet, Noel Kupersmith on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums are tight, and the riff sounds like township music from South Africa, as anti-apartheid protesters faced off against the regime. Half-way through, though, electronics enter, as Mazurek and Kupersmith employ computers, and the piece morphs as a live trio now interacts with an electronic trio.

The second track, "Slon," is mainly electronic, with Mazurek and Kupersmith soloing over what sounds like Autechre from TRI REPETAE. "Zagreb" is a beautiful ballad, "Sevens" takes its name from the tricky time signature, and "Campbell Town" is an incredibly funky, upbeat number. These three are all acoustic -- electronics reappears on "Kite" and "Palermo." "Kite" is a slow, spacy number, floating up in the breeze, I suppose, with improvisation over a computer track, while "Palermo" features electronics burbling over an insistent computer-drum rhythm, a haunting melody, and "found sounds from the fish market in Sicily" according to the Thrill Jockey website. The last two tracks, "Shoe lace" and "Pear" are all acoustic. The powerful "Shoe lace" sounds more like Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and Charlie Haden than anything else on the album, with a melodic head as a launchpad for improvisation. "Pear" is an elegy, mourning for "all the people who have lost their lives at the hands of U.S. imperialism."

This is a great album, one of the year's finest. It isn't mainstream, but it's definitely accessible. The rhythm section is strong, there are memorable melodies -- this is music with appeal to more than the avant few. Don't miss it!

4 out of 5 stars Electric jazz with soul.......2004-05-16

The Chicago Underground Trio's previous releases have found trumpeter Rob Mazurek and company flirting with electronics, but never so heavily as on the recent Slon. While electronically augmented jazz ensembles are nothing new, finding that delicate balance between free improvisation and constrained electronic composition can be bewilderingly difficult. But Slon is a fine example of a successful endeavor.

Drums, bass and trumpet are often accompanied by electronic washes, drones and overdubbing that expand the group's sound. None of these effects are superfluous however; they are integral to the groups' arrangements. Naturally, the shadow of electric period Miles Davis pervades this music, but just as important to the trio's dynamic is the classic free-jazz of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. While earlier releases by the group have strayed further into more exploratory territory, Slon finds the trio with its most concise and streamlined statement to date.

5 out of 5 stars Electro-Jazz with soul.......2004-04-18

The CUT is laying out some jazz for today, that may borrow from Miles Davis's explorations and his second quintet, but which also sounds unique and contemporary. For jazz fans who aren't too tied to the past, or music fans in general. Certainly not "smooth" jazz or conservative jazz. Explorative and worth checking out.
Slon
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Slon
    Chicago Underground Trio
    Manufacturer: Headz
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    Avant Garde & Free JazzAvant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
    Experimental MusicExperimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B00012T45E
    Release Date: 2004-01-05

    Tracks:

    1. Protest
    2. Slon
    3. Zagreb
    4. Sevens
    5. Campbell Town
    6. Kite
    7. Palermo
    8. Shoe Lace
    9. Pear
    10. Passings
    11. Tuscany

    Album Details

    Japanese Release featuring Two Bonus Tracks: "Passings", and "Tuscany".

    Jazz Music:

    1. Smoky Dawn
    2. Soup
    3. Stampede [Import]
    4. Stride and True
    5. Swing King
    6. Tanglewood '63
    7. That Attitude
    8. The Congregation
    9. The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Tenor Abrupt
    10. The Psyche

    Jazz Music

    Jazz Music