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Moppa Elliott: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band

By Jerome Wilson
May 23, 2019
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Moppa Elliott: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band

Bassist

Moppa Elliott

bass
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Moppa Elliott is best known as the leader of the surrealistic jazz group, Mostly Other People Do The Killing, but his musical universe, encompassing work with symphony orchestras and new music ensembles, stretches much farther than that band's frantic music. This is reflected in this 2 CD set of Elliott leading three different types of groups, a jazz band, a rock band and a dance band.

All three ensembles continue Elliott's off-center sensibilities, but in different ways. The jazz band, Advancing on a Wild Pitch, is more straightforward than MOPDTK but just as entertaining. It works in recognizable jazz forms and has the earthy sensibilities of

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus as a pronounced influence. The rhythm section of Elliott, pianist

Danny Fox

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Danny Fox, and drummer

Christian Coleman

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian Coleman lay down a bouncing bluesy groove on "Baden," an early jazz two-step on "St. Mary's Proctor" and a swooning tango on "Herminie." Then these are invaded by trombonist

Sam Kulik

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Kulik and baritone saxophonist

Charles Evans

saxophone, baritone

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Evans, strutting and rolling with the sassiness of Mingus' horn players on "Fables Of Faubus" and "Jelly Roll." "Oreland"'s New Orleans funk shuffle and "Can't Tell Shipp From Shohola's" slow and easy gospel march further show how well this band can maintain a solid, swinging mood with a straight face.

Unspeakable Garbage is Elliott's rock band. They do instrumentals that mesh surf music, big beat 80s' pop, and heavy guitar. Taken one at a time, the tracks are fun and energetic but listened to as a whole, their loud, high-energy mash-ups of old Ventures, Ramones and Modern Lovers riffs with glossy 80's style production, get repetitious. Still there is the fun of hearing

Jon Irabagon

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Irabagon consistently blowing his lungs out on tenor. He sometimes sounds as much like

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler as Clarence Clemons. He also gets into a nice bit of call and response with guitarist

Nick Millevoi

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Nick Millevoi on "Quarryville."

Things get really crazy with the nine-piece dance band, Acceleration Due To Gravity. Elliott's concept of a dance band is based on the hip hop notion of riffs that are embellished and tweaked with every repetition. The result is a shape-shifting cacophony that throws out echoes of

Frank Zappa

guitar, electric
1940 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Zappa,

Willem Breuker

saxophone
1944 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Willem Breuker and

King Crimson

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">King Crimson. "Waddle" is a crazy quilt of lurching beats, hysterical piano and deliriously moaning saxophone. "Geiger" is out of the Zappa playbook with baritone player

Kyle Saulnier

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Kyle Saulnier warbling over a group melody that shifts between a moderate cruising tempo and rock 'n' roll triplets before

Dave Taylor

trombone, bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Taylor's brash trombone and

Ava Mendoza

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Ava Mendoza's cutting guitar supplant him. "Energy" is the closest thing to the madcap MOPDTK style, a string of whinnying solo turns by the entire band over a slap-happy approximation of a Dixieland beat. "Sparks" is a lumbering prog rock stomp that spotlights

Nate Wooley

trumpet
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Nate Wooley's trumpet screams and Mendoza's ringing, serpentine lines.

On top of all this, they cover Kanye West. The band's version of West's "Power" embellishes the paranoiac tension of the original with hysterical alto by

Matt Nelson

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Nelson and crazed trumpet by Woolley before switching into the middle section of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which was sampled in the West recording. "Bangor" finishes the set with Saulnier, pianist

George Burton

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">George Burton and tenor player

Bryan Murray

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Bryan Murray all flailing happily over a mechanical and intentionally clumsy dance beat.

This is a fun excursion through Moppa Elliott's extended musical world. Advancing on a Wild Pitch's sly jazz subversions, Unspeakable Garbage's tireless big beat stomps and Acceleration Due To Gravity's prog-dance madness are all worthwhile and Elliott collaborators like Irabagon, Wooley and Mendova, are in top form. It's all a bit overwhelming heard in one sitting but there is a lot of worthwhile music to absorb here.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

CD 1: Oreland; Herminie; St. Mary's Proctor; Baden; Can't Tell Shipp from Shohola; Slab; Rocks, MD; Punxsutawney; Stone Hill; Minersville. CD 2: Drumore; Quarryville; Chrome; Bethlehem; Big Rock; Waddle; Geiger; Sparks; Energy; Power; Bangor.

Personnel

Moppa Elliott

bass

Advancing On a Wild Pitch: Moppa Elliott: bass; Sam Kulik: trombone; Charles Evans: baritone saxophone; Danny Fox: piano; Christian Coleman: drums (CD 1: 1-6). Unspeakable Garbage: Jon Irbagon: tenor saxophone; Nick Millevoi: guitar; Ron Stabinsky: piano; Moppa Elliott: bass; Daniel James Monaghan: drums (CD 1: 7 - CD 2: 5). Accelearation Due To Gravity: Nate Wooley: trumpet; Dave Taylor: trombone; Matt Nelson: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Bryan Murray: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, balto!; Kyle Saulnier: baritone saxophone; Ava Mendoza: guitar; George Burton: piano; Moppa Elliott: bass; Mike Pride: drums CD 2: 6-11).

Album information

Title: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Hot Cup Records

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