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KAKALLA
The Seeds Of Analog Rebellion (Weltschmerz Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
In the liner notes of this CD, bassist/composer Thomson Kneeland points out a big key to the artistic success of Kakalla. Seems this quartet had something very rare in the jazz world: a weekly gig. One that ran for over four years and gave them a place to develop their material. Then again, they could have a daily gig and it wouldn't mean a thing if not for Kneeland's incredible writing chops. This is a man who writes intense, adventurous jazz pieces with titles like "From These Hands, Sadness Flows," "Sir Charles's Transmogrification," "Maleficent Oblations to a God of Benevolence" and "Caustic Raptures of the Cloven Hoof," and within a few measures you know the titles aren't for show. We're talkin' about a guy working on another level.
He's got amazing players at his side in Jerry Sabatini (trumpet), Nate Radley (guitar) and Mike Connors (drums), each a highly creative improviser who gets full credit from Kneeland for his contributions to his compositions. Apparently the rule is "there are no rules." The music ranges from structured fusion to mind-melting avant-garde, complete with shifting rhythms and bizarre samples (including one that sounds like a munchkin hiccuping. I dunno, I just report what I hear). The sampling and synth work by Kneeland and Radley is never overwhelming. The perfect example of how they use this kind of thing to their advantage would be the rumbling, oscillating, swamp-like underbelly of "The Grand Inquisitor," which only serves to ground the disjointed percussion and trumpet. That razor-sharp, jagged tune gives way to the contrasting beauty of "From These Hands, Sadness Flows," a complex piece that features wonderful tonal interplay between trumpet and guitar.
This is all high-skill stuff, yet I'm not finding a particularly large volume of information about Kakalla on the Web, which means they're still flying under the radar, by and large. That's just crazy. This is world class jazz. Somebody needs to alert the world.
© 2005 - DJ Johnson