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Individually Twisted
The Jazz Passengers
A CD Review |
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The conversation went a little like this: "Have
you heard of The Jazz Passengers before?" Not wanting to sound
musically uncouth I replied "the name rings a bell but I don't
think I've ever heard their music before." "Well, they've
got a new CD called "Individually Twisted" coming out on
Valentine's Day with Deborah Harry, the singer from Blondie, leading
the vocals." It was kinda strange because about a week before
this conversation happened I was just saying to myself "What
happened to Deborah Harry?" Now I know - she's been hanging out
with a group of tight-knit musicians singing, well, jazz, sort of.
Why "jazz, sort of?" As I dropped "Individually
Twisted" into my CD player I'm trying to imagine Ms. Harry
singing some classic jazz tunes with a band behind her, and
personally, from my past images of Blondie I just couldn't see it.
But, as I listened and the horns, keyboards, and the rest of The
Passengers filled in, I was actually amazed at how great a voice
Deborah Harry had, at how well the group worked together, and at
times this group can take a mix of, hmm, now this is kinda hard to
explain, but let's just say that at times it almost sounds like each
band member is playing a different song, but they mix it together to
sound, well, cool.
I guess I still haven't really answered the "jazz, sort
of?" question yet, have I? Well, somehow The Jazz Passengers
pull of this mix of traditional jazz of the past, toss in some
pop-type sounds of the now, and I swear I hear a big-band influence
of days gone by. It sounds like it won't work, but it does.
"Individually Twisted" throws a harsh, brassy, and even
stringy sound on "Pork Chop" (kind of a testament to men -
we're such pigs sometimes aren't we), an almost new-age jazz sound
on "Imitation Of A Kiss," a classic duet between Deborah
Harry and Elvis Costello on "Don'cha Go 'Way Mad" (yep,
you know the song from the '50's with such classic voices attributed
to it in the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald), and they
even throw in a down and dirty remake of "The Tide is
High," the Blondie classic. And as I listen to this remake, I
guess the thought of Deborah Harry singing jazz songs isn't such a
stretch after all.
On one of their press releases says "The Jazz
Passengers'" Individually Twisted" shows the group
continuing to redefine the parameters of jazz by refusing to play by
the rules." True, many times they aren't playing by the rules,
in fact many times it sounds like they aren't all playing the same
song, but this group of twisted individuals pulls it off nicely,
quite nicely. As a whole I give The Jazz Passengers
"Individually Twisted" an 85% on the Entertainment Ave!
listenability scale. It's not strait jazz, it's not really pop, and
it's not really big band, but it sure is fun.
That's it for this one, I'm The Dude on the Right! L8R!! |
