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Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Harder On The Outside

By Jerome Wilson
April 10, 2019
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Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Harder On The Outside

A complex web of sampling, beat construction and live improvisation all led to this disc by guitarist

Jon Lundbom

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Lundbom and his group, Big Five Chord, a CD that is a heady stew of hard-edged funk grooves, squalling saxophones and gleeful guitar freakouts.

This project started with saxophonist

Bryan Murray

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Bryan Murray sampling old Big Five Chord recordings and constructing new beats out of them. He then passed his work back to Lundbom who built new compositions out of it and recorded them live in studio with the band. The resulting music is brash and noisy with the sense of romping play common to many of the recordings that appear on the Hot Cup label.

On most tracks bassist

Moppa Elliott

bass
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Moppa Elliott and drummer

Dan Monaghan

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Monaghan provide a slick funky bottom while the saxophonists soar and shriek, and Lundbom further irritates the mixture with injections of loud, bruising jazz- rock guitar. The resulting torrent sounds like

James Brown

vocals
1933 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">James Brown's rhythm section jamming with

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman's Prime Time band and guitarist

John McLaughlin

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">John McLaughlin. "Three Plus" is a typical concoction. It has the two saxophonists, Murray and

Justin Wood

saxophone, alto
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Justin Wood, amiably wailing over a rumbling jog laid down by the rhythm section, before Lundbom invades with a choppy rock solo and the saxophones begin rolling and swooping all over one another. Elsewhere, "Booberonic" leans heavily into stutter-step funk rhythms out of the drums and saxophone, before Lundbom takes a dizzying guitar solo. "People Be Talking" is a fast-tempoed swirl where Murray squawks mightily and Lundbom plays clipped dot-dash guitar runs like

Joe Morris

bass, acoustic
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Morris.

Other moods are in play on this set as well. Both takes of "Basic Bitches" present a more brooding vibe with the saxophones and guitar singing and warping over a stalking bass and drum rhythm that carries the dark ambiance of some of

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' electric music. On "Predisone" the saxophones play in unison and solo off a tight melody and lumbering beat while Lundbom takes center stage going from easy, springy chords to a sustained heavy rock blitz. "Cereal" is a lighter hybrid of guitar, fluttering around and through bumpy tenor and soprano lines, while "Fussing Blues" is a short but intense tumble of punk jazz thrash.

Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord lay down an energetic free-for-all on this CD that underscores heavy rock guitar and wild saxophone blowing with relentless funk beats for a sound full of crazed joy.

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Track Listing

People be Talking; Basic Bitches; Prednisone; Booberonic; Cereal; Fussing Blues (Littig); Three Plus; Basic Bitches (alt.).

Personnel

Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord

Jon Lundbom: guitar; Justin Wood: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Bryan Murray: tenor saxophone, alto saxophone; Moppa Elliott: bass; Dan Monaghan: drums.

Album information

Title: Harder On The Outside | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Hot Cup Records

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