Welch, Neil and Chris Icasiano: Bad Luck

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of avant-garde jazz musicians Neil Welch and Chris Icasiano. Their new album Bad Luck, released on Belle Records, is the follow up to their 2008 release Narmada. The music presented here is in the realm of experimental, avante-gard jazz, often meandering into trippy free form jazz workouts. Welch plays tenor, soprano and contra bass saxophones, live loops and pedals and Icasiano adds his talents on the drum kit.

There is no doubting the quality of musicianship on display here. Welch is able to get sounds out of his instrument that few would hope to achieve. He also has a sense of melody that serves some of these songs well. As for Icasiano, he is no slouch on the drums, often providing intricate rhythms and patterns that help take these songs to the next level. Perhaps most surprising is how only two musicians can produce a sound where the listener does not wish for more instruments. These two musicians know each other well, as there is a definite chemistry between them and both take turns in stretching their musical boundaries.

The album starts with the experimental jazz of "Christ Lake", a song with a minimalistic sparse arrangement that transforms into otherworldly strangeness as a barrage of disturbing noise emanates from your speakers. Nope, this is not music for the faint of heart. The album works best when melody is combined with complexity as in the aptly titled "Strange And Beautiful" where a somber sax melody intermixes with jazzy drum work or in the somewhat more traditional approach of "Pollock" where both Welch and Icasiano show considerable skill. There are times, however, when the melody seems to be lost like in the screaming sax of "Cash And Tongue" or in the incredibly strange "New Metal".

Although not all of these songs hit me at the same level, the creativity displayed here is second to none. If you like your jazz injected with heavy doses of experimentalism you would do well to give Bad Luck a listen.

Track Listing:
1. Christ Lake
2. Input/Output
3. Strange And Beautiful
4. Pollock
5. Bad Luck
6. Cash And Tongue
7. Nocturnal House
8. New metal
9. Shadows

Added: November 9th 2009
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2354
Language: english

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