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JZ Replacement: Disrespectful

By Chris May
March 16, 2020
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Visceralism and virtuosity, the two qualities which define this momentous debut album by

JZ Replacement

" data-original-title="" title="">JZ Replacement, make an unbeatable combination. They are also a necessary one. Without a degree of virtuosity, eloquence is constrained by lack of vocabulary. Without a degree of visceralism, technical facility is at worst mechanistic, at best purely cerebral. Bring the two qualities together and the result can be special.

JZ Replacement—a duo comprising alto saxophonist

Zhenya Strigalev

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Zhenya Strigalev and drummer

Jamie Murray

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jamie Murray—achieves an ideal blend of visceralism and virtuosity. The two musicians have been frequent collaborators on London's thriving jazz scene since 2018, but this is their first album together as a unit. They are joined, in what is essentially a supporting role, by American bass guitarist

Tim Lefebvre

bass
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Lefebvre, with whom Strigalev has toured and recorded since the early 2010s. The group excels on a helter-skelter ride through 35 minutes of jittery, serpentine and often furiously paced material, executing its tricky contours with passion and precision.

Contrary to what the sleeve art and title might suggest, there is nothing ugly or knuckle-scrapingly punkish about Disrespectful. It is no simple head-charge, though at times it does resemble one. Much less is it on the spectrum free-improv. There is little use of dissonance. All seven Strigalev tunes have form and structure, to which Murray adds danceable beats. There are neo-balladic moments. There is light and shade. The album is a listener-friendly romp with historical resonances which include

Jackie McLean

saxophone, alto
1932 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Jackie McLean,

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman,

Arthur Blythe

saxophone, alto
1940 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Arthur Blythe, electric-era

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis and splashes of Slavic folk music, and which also references contemporary sounds such as broken beat, hip hop and electronica (post-production effects were judiciously applied by Strigalev and his co-producer, Eugene Petrushanskiy).

Disrespectful is strikingly different from, but on the same side of the barricades as, other ranking saxophone and drums duos such as Londoners

Binker Golding

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Binker Golding and

Moses Boyd

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Moses Boyd, and American drummer

Ted Poor

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Ted Poor's duo with alto saxophonist

Andrew D'Angelo

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrew D'Angelo. Like both those groups, JZ Replacement offer thrilling and deeply satisfying music for head, heart and feet. Not to be missed.

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Track Listing

Displacement A; Tubuka; Guilty Look 3; Bee Bee; Marmalade For Radhika; Five Cymbals For Jamie; Take The JZ Train.

Personnel

Zhenya Strigalev

saxophone, alto

Jamie Murray

drums

Tim Lefebvre

bass

Album information

Title: Disrespectful (JZ Replacement) | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Rainy Days Records

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