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United Dope Front
The Liquid Acrobats (Cuzone)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
I just found out these guys are considered a jam band, labeled with the sub-genre of groove band. Because I think of unbathed people twirling to yet another 70 minute version of The Dead's "Dark Star" when I hear the words "jam band," I have shut my mind off to the possibility of even giving any of them a try.
This CD didn't have the words "jam band" on any stickers or in the publicity paperwork. I accidentally listened to it.
Listening to United Dope Front's laid-back, dreamy grooves, floaty, reverbed pastiches of light jazz-rock fusion and exotica, I'm reminded of a time in the 70s when I'd slip on the headphones and drift away on Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Reed Seed." That isn't to say Ben Senterfit is on the same level as Washington was as a sax player, but not many are, and Senterfit, judged on his own merits, is quite good. He has a wonderful way of taking a sweet tone in a descending line and giving it an unexpectedly nasty growl for two or three fast notes before slipping effortlessly back into that smooth-as-silk tone for the conclusion of the run. A lot of sax players can make it growl, but Senterfit has an instinctive sense of when to make it growl that has a profound effect on the whole. Keyboardist Jarad Astin and guitarist Javier Gonzalez are also standouts, often providing textural counterpoints that make the songs multi-dimensional and interesting, even when they run long, such as the 6:15 "Freefall." It could have been a snore if not for the juxtaposition of gentle, droning, sparse but heavily chorused electric piano and get-down funky electric guitar.
Yes, United Dope Front falls into the large "jam band" bag and is sorted in the "Groove Band" sub-category, but if you're like me, a person who is put off by anything labeled "Jam Band," this album may be an invitation to explore that realm of the "genre." Because I avoid anything with that label, I may have missed a lot of bands like this, and I have to tell you, listening to United Dope Front was a very happy accident, indeed.
© 2003 - DJ Johnson