BABKAS Ants to the Moon Songlines 1505-2 (54:00) by Marcela Breton Note: this article is reprinted exactly how it appreared in Jazz Times, mistakes and all. |
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Babkas, originally from Seattle, is
a free jazz trio with bop, rock, and Eastern European, primarily klezmer,
influences. The trio is Brian Kraus on alto sax, Brad Schoppach, whose
grinding guitar lines have a lot to do with the acid rock sound that permeates
this release. Altoist Kraus is a model of post-modern playing, screeching,
squawking, droning, fixating, the musical equivalent of an obsessive-compulsive
disorder. On "Ants to the Moon" and "This" Kraus'
sax sounds like a violin. "Lost," the first section of the three-part
"Cautionary Tale,"is surprisingly lyrical before breaking open
in the second part, "Busted." "Rocky and Rachel" suggests
a perverse love story. all of the compositions are original and guaranteed
to generate agitation. |