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Morglbl: Jazz For The Deaf

Ahh, those silly French. I still don't even know how to pronounce the name of this band correctly, but Morglbl (yes, that is the correct spelling) are one hell of a talented trio! Their latest CD, Jazz For The Deaf (The Laser's Edge Records) is a 12 track CD full of musical chops and a lot of goofy, off beat fun.
Morglbl features the talents of guitarist Christophe Godin, bassist Ivan Rougny and new drummer Aurelien Ouzoulias, and the all instrumental Jazz For The Deaf will totally find a home with fans of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, King's X, Frank Zappa and Primus. Guitarist Christophe Godin has the ability to channel a Vai or a Holdsworth in songs while never actual stealing from them. His linear phasing is uncanny but it never feels like he's copying anyone, which is a hard feat to pull off. Morglbl's 4th CD, Jazz For The Deaf is quite a heavier release than their previous CD's and new hard hitting drummer, Aurelien Ouzoulias is a large reason for this. Part Fusion, part Metal, Morglbl have a killer CD here and finding a bad track among this lot is a hard thing to do. Highlight tracks like "Borderline", "Jazz For Deaf People" and "Hell's Ball's" all showcase a great sense of humor as well as technical brilliance. Quirky changes and break downs are simply a lot of fun to listen to and actually made me smile and laugh out loud at times. These guys are just an awesome band.
The strange name aside, Morglbl are a fun band to listen to and the combination of humor and musical wizardry is brilliant. Guitarist Christophe Godin is a stellar player and for shred guitar fans out there, he IS a player to check out. You won't be disappointed. For fans of American bands like Dub Trio and Bolt, Morglbl have that same offbeat wackiness with an even a higher level of superb musicianship. Jazz For The Deaf is a great, fun record that you will find yourself spinning over and over. I know that I did. Great guitar tone, great playing and a nice clean production, no clunkers on this one. This is a winner! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Track Listing
1. Morglbl Circus
2. 22 Oz
3. Borderline
4. Myspacebook
5. Stoner de Brest
6. The Bleach Boy
7. The Monster Within Me
8. Jazz For Deaf People
9. Point d'Org
10. Hell's Ball's
11. Untold Stories
12. My Little Man

Added: August 20th 2009
Reviewer: Butch Jones
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 3287
Language: english

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Morglbl: Jazz For The Deaf
Posted by Ryan Sparks, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-02-09 21:24:02
My Score:

Imagine taking the eccentric sounding band Primus and an accomplished guitar shredder such as Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, and locking them together in a room to see what kind of mad experiments they could conjure up. This might give you an idea of the template that French instrumental trio Mörglbl is working off of as they unleash their latest effort Jazz For The Deaf. While I generally find most instrumental records of this nature tend to lean more towards lengthy excursions of guitar wankery I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the results here. The group has put together a solid album that, while it does feature a heaping display of musical chops, it more importantly also has well constructed songs designed to keep the listener engaged for the full hour long ride.

Make no mistake about it guitarist Christophe Godin is the main focal point here as his blazingly articulate solos on "Myspacebook", The Bleach Boy" and "Jazz For Deaf People" make up a large portion of the band's sound. However, that being said the funky and muscular rhythm section of bassist Ivan Rougny and drummer Aurélian Ouzoulias should not be overlooked as their meaty backbone provides the solid foundation necessary for Godin's extended forays. The duo isn't content with simply backing him up as they are focused on accompanying him for the ride, making Jazz For The Deaf a true team effort in every sense of the word. The ever changing atmospherics on songs like "The Monster Within Me", "Stoner de Brest" and "Hell's Balls", not to mention the subtle doses of humor injected into some of these song titles, make for serious music but with a with pleasantly lighthearted feel to it as well.

If you've never heard of these guys but enjoy instrumental music with stunning musicianship then I'd have to say Jazz For The Deaf is really no-brainer. You need to add this one to your collection.

(originally reviewed for www.classicrockrevisited.com)

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