Search - Michael Formanek :: Loose Cannon

Almost normal, but not very.

Douglas T Martin | Alpharetta, GA USA | 12/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tim Berne (alto and baritone sax), Michael Formanek (bass), and Jeff Hirshfield (drums) put together a scrappy improv band to play some enduring songs. Formanek's song "Fool's Paradise" was reworked under the title of "Paradise Revisited" on Formanek's "Low Profile" CD. Two of the Berne compositions, "Broken" and "Lowball" were combined under the name "Bro'ball" and played by Berne's group Bloodcount (also with Formanek) on the "Unwound" CD. Another Berne composition, "The 12 1/2 % Solution", wound up on the Big Satan CD. Obviously there is some choice material here since the artists keep coming back to reinterpret it. Less frantic than the Bloodcount material, more percussive than the Berne/Formanek duo, "Loose Cannon" is a solid addition to any not-quite-avant-garde-but-definately-modern jazz collection."