Noertker’s Moxie: Tricycle II - Elysium

Here is album number two from the Tricycle triptych titled Elysium, brought to you by Noertker’s Moxie led by Bill Noertker (contrabass) and joined by Annelise Zamula (alto sax, flute), Brett Carson (piano) and Jason Levis (drums).

Like the first in the Tricycle series, the music of Elysium fits comfortably in the avant jazz category. At times the instruments seemingly play different parts, quite angular to one another but able to form a cohesive sound structure. It can be a difficult listen at times but as with more abstract and experimental musical forms, the payoff is worth it. Wild piano and alto sax excursions highlight the opening track “Road to Branscombe�. The bass is also very well played holding it all together. Like the previous album the music can get too experimental for me, like the bizarre drum/sax part in “Buddhist Isometrics�. I did, however, enjoy the bouncy flute lines starting and ending the piece. More experimental jazz can be heard on the sax led “Talkin’ to Huddie Ledbetter� where the players really seem to be in sync with each other. Lots of speed variations in this one as the music freely changes pace often. Flute and piano create a pretty nice melody in the bizarrely titled “Great Haddock Hexation�. A very fluid tune as all the musicians are once again playing extremely well off one another. Excellent musicianship is heard throughout.

There are four more mind bending tracks to get your head around. Just remember this music is far from commercial sounding and immediacy is not the name of the game here. More like adventurous, abstract and highly creative. Recommended for those who dig the noncommercial side of modern jazz.

Track Listing:
1. Road to Branscombe
2. Buddhist Isometrics
3. Talkin’ to Huddie Ledbetter
4. Great Haddock Hexation
5. The Byes
6. Ventricles
7. Mind.the.Gap. (Honiton Station)
8. 49 Days

Added: October 24th 2020
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 755
Language: english

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