Avant-Jazz Guitar Etc
The Best Jazz Albums of 2016
61. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Play All the Notes
62. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Changes
Honorable Mention [listed alphabetically]
75. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Bring Their ‘A’ Game
76. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Magic Happen
“Lundbom doesn’t stop, churning out a new release practically every year. And why should he, since the 13-year old Big Five Chord…continues to do exciting things with the guitarist’s sometimes audacious compositions.”
“Lundbom brings together his Big Five Chord band for a pair of EPs that mix flexibility and swing… While the sound is loose, it’s never incoherent and disarrayed… [JL&BVC] walk the tightrope without a net, teetering but never falling on this white knuckler of joy.”
“[‘Bring Their ‘A’ Game’] has the growl of the band in improvisational fullness. Jon plays some beautiful guitar as one expects, he IS one of a kind after all. …This is take-no-prisoners out bop and more. Make no mistake. Lundbom has the subtle leadership that gets everybody to give of things their considerable all, and Jon does the same. Can I just say ‘chuck everything and get it’? Well I will. …There is something important going on!”
“A thrill ride featuring shimmering guitar and burning saxophones pushed forward by excellent rhythm. The album clocks in at twenty seven minutes and keeps you riveted throughout. This is an excellent group and the music that they play is both high energy, and emotionally engaging, which works well in these short compact bursts of music.”
★★★1/2
“The three long tracks make for adventurous listening. The group radiates with hard bop sensibility and a methodical madness that’s almost impossible to turn away from. …[JL&BVC] often choose unexplored paths to interpret these pieces. The democratic group approach allows each of these top-tier innovators to stretch while their interplay and group dynamics are flawless. Complex and angular lines are contrasted with the full sound of reeds; Lundbom’s notes and phrases move in and out of focus while Monaghan manages to hold all of together. It’s a high-wire act that doesn’t let down.”
★★★★
“[‘Bring Their ‘A’ Game’ is] a mix a free jazz and and tight grooves, as music that blends the moods of surf rock with Bluesman Big Joe Turner’s backing band… The music is satisfyingly elemental: bass, guitar, drums and a couple of free flying saxophonists. No pretense here. Rock solid sounds out of the American jazz/rock/blues/free jazz tradition, from a fearless group of music-makers.”
★★★★
“Chromatic passages mixing it up with free-funk motives and a gradual and well-worked development of the material that eventually leads to a noise based saturation point. The phrasing in [Lundbom’s] playing is a real joy and the way it sits within the rhythm will have you toe tapping before the track is out, worth getting just for [‘Ain’t Cha’]. …The emphasis is clearly on the tracks as a vehicle for improvised solo melodic lines and there is plenty of space for each of the soloists to stretch out and express themselves. …There is some great playing from the guitarist across these two EPs.”
“Sounds church basement walls could not contain. This bunch has set sail for Mars and they’ve left enough room in their starship for you to join them.”