“Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord take a skewed look at jazz with rock sensibilities—or should that be the other way round? Lundbom can be hard to pin down… Big Five Chord pays heartfelt but ironic regard to tradition, albeit through the lens of the guitarist’s idiosyncratic compositions.”
Bruce Lee G, ‘Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter’ 04/29/11
“Mr. Lundbom loves to write these greasy, somewhat funky tunes for two sprawling saxes and great, grimy guitar licks dancing in the center. …Although Mr. Lundbom sounds like he does have some fine jazz chops, he would rather push things over the edge in exuberance verging on sloppiness. ‘Quavers!’ is more about having fun than showing off any sort of technical prowess. This includes some of sickest sax solos I’ve heard in recent memory.”
S Victor Aaron, ‘Something Else!’ 05/01/11
“Lundbom’s vision of music is a little different: a grunge/punk disposition but with a great feel for complex harmonic structures and dynamic tonalities that puts his music squarely in the no-man’s land between rock and jazz…not a surprise coming from a band full of subversives… The band experiments a lot and the fun is picking up on their game…call me a fan.”
Ian Mann, ‘TheJazzMann.com’ 04/29/11
“Lundbom’s music straddles the realms of jazz, rock and improv but it resolutely isn’t fusion, this group is far too muscular, intelligent and irreverent for that. Indeed it’s the blend of brain and brawn that makes Big Five Chord such an attractive proposition and while there’s a certain intellectual rigour about the band’s music there’s also a healthy dose of irreverence… Lundbom’s music may be uncompromising but it’s not at all ‘difficult’ and should hold considerable appeal for adventurous rock listeners.”
CJ Bond, ‘JazMuzic.com’ 04/27/11
“How is it possible for a band to rock with such raw, rumbling, kinetic high octane impunity? …a way of introduction to an idiosyncratic genius harboring boundary-stretching notions in his musical make up… [Big Five Chord take] spontaneous improvisation to a new cosmic level and then proceed to jam it hard into tonal, rhythmic overdrive. Be prepared to go far, far out, and deep!”
Chris Robinson, ‘Outside-Inside-Out’
One of six on the “Best of 2011 (so far)“!!!!!
Stuart Dreyden, ‘The Province’ 04/08/11
“The John McLaughlin comparisons are appropriate right from the first clusters of frenetic chording… This quintet with guest keyboardist Matt Kanelos has certainly honed its form over the past eight years; developing the skills to drive home near-heavy rhythms with flights of soloing that are both jazz and rock in construction.”
Delarue, ‘Lucid Culture’ 04/08/11
“On one hand, it’s a surprisingly straight-up groove album, but all those grooves, and most of the surprisingly memorable tunes, are ultimately nothing more than fodder for satire and destruction. …it’s cruel and funny and kind of punk although the band has pretty awesome chops for a punk jazz band… Lundbom [“On Jacation”] plays an absolutely stunning chorus-box solo that finally goes off into skronk at the end. …it hurts a little to give away all these punchlines; on the other hand, no words could really do justice to them. The album is out now on Hot Cup Records – you’ll see this here at the end of the year on our best of 2011 list“
Chris Spector, ‘Midwest Record’ 03/26/11
“The sound of guys with chops losing their minds. Mixing atonal classical with Led Zep moves, these jazzbos come in with marching band music from hell that the offspring of any Residents fan will delight in playing around the dorm. Somehow, I can see Willie Dixon’s grand children bringing the plagiarism suit any day.”