Outside-Inside-Out’s Top 10 of 2015
Albums that pained me not to be able to include:
Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord – ‘Jeremiah’
NPR 2015 Jazz Critics Poll
Duck Baker (‘The Absolute Sound,’ ‘New York Jazz Record’)
8. Jon Lundbom [& Big Five Chord], ‘Jeremiah’
Mike Shanley (‘JazzTimes,’ ‘Shanley on Music’)
3. Jon Lundbom [& Big Five Chord], ‘Jeremiah’
‘The New York Times,’ 12/11/15
“A guitarist.”
Stuart Kremsky, ‘Mr. Stu’s Record Room’ 12/07/15
“A slew of angular post-bop with some sour dissonance from the horns, fractured rhythms, and Lundbom’s ‘anything goes’ guitaristics. In other words, modern instrumental music with heaps of attitude and influences from every record that the musicians have ever heard. …‘Jeremiah’ presents nearly an hour of spellbinding fun from Lundbom and his wily companions. Don’t miss it.”
Josef Woodard, ‘Jazziz’ 07/06/15
“On ‘The Bottle’…Lundbom wriggles and swaggers with his own brand of fretwork lingo…a sly storytelling character shines throughout the solo, along with a signature mix of assertion and probity, lined with a restless wit. …[BVC’s] rumbling spirit and drive to adventure are fully engaged. Experimental at heart, and possessing an elastic notion of structure and idiom, the band’s approach can feel like an extended hang on a gnarled, suspended five chord, teasingly hinting at a resolution which may or may not end where expected. …Lundbom occasionally pushes forward into the soloist mix, his harmonically cerebral yet rockishly visceral style ablaze. …The crackling energy of a band that’s at once confident and evolving.”
Bryan Murray, Prepared Tenor Solo 08/10/15
Mike Shanley, ‘Shanley on Music’ 08/14/15
“By now, guitarist Jon Lundbom should be getting more extensive attention. …Lundbom plays and writes like a guy who’s digested a lot of different styles and can draw on them easily without being too obvious or referential with them. …[BVC fits] into Lundbom’s vision where strong post-bop melodies and rich voicings co-mingle with solos that aren’t afraid to kick up a cloud of dust. …A jazz pundit (I honestly don’t remember who) once said that Kind of Blue is a great place to start listening to jazz not only because of the program, but because everyone who played on that album went on to different things on their own, making it easy to discover more about jazz. The same thing can be said about all of the names on ‘Jeremiah.’ …Everyone here is cutting new paths for modern improvisation. …Lundbom is a really dynamic leader and catalyst. His time has come. Jump on this bandwagon.”
Bruce Lee Gallanter, ‘Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter’ 07/03/15
“[Big Five Chord is] never bound by any one genre or style. …It is nearly impossible to peg this band down. …The interplay between Lundbom’s guitar and Irabagon’s soprano is one the highlights throughout this disc and erupts into high gear during [‘W.P.S.M.’]. ‘Jeremiah’ is one of this month’s most unexpected gems and will take some time to fully absorb its riches.”
Freddyfreejazz, ‘Amazon.fr’ 5/30/15
★★★★
Translated from French by Google…
“First of all the power, voltage that drives this jazz that is anything but consensual. [Lundbom’s music] is constantly on the razor’s edge between elegance and shouting. In a more general way, the music split between free-bop and free jazz… The choice of musicians is of the highest order. On the professionalism that is breathtaking. This is the kind of collective need to go see in concert urgently… The spontaneity and freshness of the music are so palpable, and never lacking… Here a group not to be missed.”
Chris Haines, ‘Free Jazz Blog’ 05/27/15
★★★★
“[The expanded ensemble] has lost none of their classic Big Five Chord sound with full-on textures taking turns against more stripped back accompaniments, and fast free-bop tempos being usurped by laid back lounge vibes. We find that Lundbom’s guitar playing is as free and languid as ever, the sound of which is totally unique to himself. …The musicianship on this album is excellent and the band are really together as you would expect. There are seven tracks on Jeremiah and not one of them is a filler.”