DJ SPOOKY
Optometry (Thirsty Ear)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Expecting the Subliminal Kid? Oh the kid is in the house, but it ain't his house. This is a band, well, the Thirsty Ear house band: Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Joe McPhee and Guillermo Brown. A crack experimental avant jazz outfit with DJ Spooky augmenting the vibe via turntable gimmickery, laptop tomfoolery, even some percussion and upright bass. If you've been following along, this is the latest installment of the Blues series and thus the content shouldn't be much of a surprise. What Spooky offers to the mix is smoother transitions and velvety textures, making the jarring jazz bites of said group much more digestible. The adventurous nature of the beast remains, but more will certainly be grooving to it.

© 2002 - John Sekerka