The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Eric Hofbauer and the Infared Band

Myth Understanding | Creative Nation Music
By JON GARELICK  |  July 1, 2008
3.0 3.0 Stars
Eric HofbauerINSIDE.jpg
The liner notes give you all the inside dope on guitarist Hofbauer’s compositional strategies — myths, puzzles, martial arts, puns, programmatic narratives. But what’s likely to hit you first is his flair for bluesy, riffing AABA melodies. Yes, he likes to warp expectations with all that gamesmanship, but at his best, he sets up a satisfying songlike tension-and-release from stop-time and odd-meter sections into 4/4 swing. Maybe best of all is “A Drunk Monk,” which appears to have as much to do with Shaolin warriors as with Thelonious. Again, though, what will grab you is the tension of bassist Mike Montgomery’s lagging, syncopated two-bar ostinato against the quick 6/8 pulse and misterioso theme. Montgomery’s solo here is downright eloquent — spare and lyrical — and saxophonist Kelly Roberge builds smooth, concise phrases up to climactic ululations. Elsewhere, Hofbauer likes to break the band down into duo and trio passages. (Miki Matsuki is the capable drummer.) At times you might wish he trusted those grooves and melodies a bit more, but there’s always something to savor in these four-way conversations. And yes, “The Chump Killer” is inspired by Kung Fu Hustle.
Related: Serious dub phase, Making masterpieces in 48 hours, The Portland scene report: January 12, 2007, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Sports, Martial Arts, Mike Montgomery
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

[ 12/04 ]   New England Conservatory Opera  @ Cutler Majestic Theatre
[ 12/04 ]   Monogold + Gamblers Union  @ P.A.'s Lounge
ARTICLES BY JON GARELICK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   GETTING THE STORY  |  December 01, 2009
    Full-length written histories of jazz can be a slog. Especially since "the story of jazz" (as critic Marshall Stearns titled his 1956 tome) only gets longer and more complicated. Personally, on these prose-narrative trips along the New Orleans–New York axis of musical development, I usually bog down somewhere outside Chicago.
  •   MISS TESS | DARLING, OH DARLING  |  December 02, 2009
    Boston singer-songwriter Miss Tess has always had the pipes and the taste to carry off her various ventures into country, blues, and multi-hued swing, but Darling, Oh Darling underlines her overall sound.
  •   ERIK DEUTSCH | HUSH MONEY  |  November 25, 2009
    Having played in projects from jam bands to jazz and as a singer-songwriter accompanist, keyboardist Erik Deutsch led an acoustic jazz album for his debut.
  •   MIXED MEDIA  |  November 18, 2009
    Film noir has been a running theme in composer/pianist Ran Blake's work since the beginning of his career — his very first album, The Newest Sound Around (RCA, 1962), with singer Jeanne Lee, began with David Raskin's theme to Otto Preminger's Laura .
  •   LIVE AND ON RECORD  |  November 04, 2009
    To call Darius Jones’s music avant-garde seems almost beside the point. In its way, it’s older than old — it’s ancient.

 See all articles by: JON GARELICK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group