Search - Chicago Underground Duo :: Axis and Alignment

There?s a certain tightness and sense of control in Chicago Underground Duo?s music. Despite their jazz background, it?s clear that they have been influenced by indie rock, modern classical composition, and electronica. There isn?t the loose flow of a jazz album here; there?s a specific kind of focus that is rooted in non-jazz sources. One half of the duo, multi-instrumentalist Rob Mazurek, has appeared on recordings by Stereolab, Tortoise, and Calexico, so it makes sense that post-rock sounds would influence Mazurek and his collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Chad Taylor. And this CD, which was recorded by Tortoise members John McEntire and Ken Brown, sounds like a rock album. Taylor?s vibraphone and Mazurek?s cornet are key colors in the album?s essentially cool palette, and Axis and Alignment?s buttery brass tones and ringing melodic percussion leave a lasting timbral impression. At times this album brings to mind an altered and expanded version of Third Stream jazz for the 21st century, a style in which Pierre Boulez, cool jazz, post-rock, and free jazz can all hang out together. --Fred Cisterna