Reviews
Todd Hildreth, Louisville Music News
Quantumn Tweezers is the second CD from BeebleBrox.
"We're very happy with this new one. On Raw
Material [their previous release]," said
keyboardist Monika Herzig,"we had recorded
the CD in snippets over a drawn out period of time, using different players on
a lot of the tunes. On this one, we have the same group. There's better continuity."
BeebleBrox plays a challenging brand of jazz that can both please open-minded
jazz listeners and adventuresome rock audiences. Add to the jazz sensibilities
a quirky sense of humor and a fascination with science fiction a la guitarist Peter
Kienle, and you've got a band to be reckoned with.
BeebleBrox's use of electronics causes some to label them as fusion, but don't
be too quick to categorize them. Fusion, like the rock label 'alternative,'
has come to mean something more specific than the broader interpretation suggests.
Fusion originally meant the 'fusing' of jazz and rock styles. Over time however,
it became commercialized and formulaic. BeebleBrox prefers to be called 'original
jazz,' not fusion.
"Peter's writing is heavily influenced by Weather Report, where the ensemble
is interacting constantly, and you never know which parts are written out and
which parts are improvised." said Herzig
"Me, I really like the music of Billy Childs, and let's just say I'm quite
proud of the fact that Chick Corea and I share the same birthday.....
The computer graphics on the eight-page booklet alone are worth the bucks.
JazzTimes, December 1996, page 107 A casual glance at BeebleBrox's Quantumn Tweezers CD, with its oddball
computer graphic images and strange song titles (YES
- send me the next issue Free! is my personal favorite) might give
a strange impression. But make no mistake, BeebleBrox is not a group
of computer geeks, but of serious and sly musicians with worlds to
offer. Tweezers is an affecting journey, with lots to do and see along
the way. Each track is unusual, from the bubbling, crazed fusion epic
alluded to previously, to the strikingly sparse electric violin-piano
duet The Saga Of C. And
C.. Where Balding
Balladeer is graceful and dark, with singing bass of the Del Palmer
variety, Gateway struts
with electric guitar in bluesy setting - the group's tightly-timed
hesitance lends grit and emotion. Many of the Brox compositions include
unusual instrumental combinations which illustrate their coyly presented
subjects. Riding the Wings
of the Buzzard, for example, offers a
blurping tenor sax melody dipping across a wiggy organ line and pull-off
bass licks for an offbeat, charming feel. The novelty of finding a
band named from the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy may cause you to
pick Quantumn Tweezers off the shelf, but their artistry and humor
will make you stay.
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