Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord, Make the Magic Happen

Critics, of which I suppose I am one, are as is the fashion out of style, if social media is any indication (and of course that is an open question!). In some views they are leeches, wanna bee's, axe-grinding subjectivists. Well bull-dingie to that. Never paid for work (I mean by publishers, of course, one does not take money for reviews from artists unless one is a sleaze), facing foreclosure and eviction, poor to the point where in winter my toes turn black from horrible frostbite because I cannot afford enough heat, facing possible homelessness, I am doing these blogs because the music is all-important to me. Otherwise, I would be plain-crazy!  Leech? What is it I get out of this? And if I make a point of covering everything Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord comes out with, it is because the music they make is simply and OBJECTIVELY wonderful. So far. Got it? Now if I sound like as a friend of mine puts it, I am "pulling a Mingus" by being disagreeable and even angry, so be it.

Seriously though, I have been totally zoned in with Lundbom and company's excursions. Their new project this year is a series of four digital EPs by the band, the first of which is out, Make the Magic Happen (Hot Cup). It is another good one. There are three pieces going down here, Ornette Coleman's "Law Years," in honor of and remembrance of a master taken sadly from us recently. Then there is Lundbom's "Ain't Cha," based on Parker and Gillespie's intro to "All the Things You Are" as put forward on the Bird & Diz platter years ago. And then there is Lundbom's "La Bomb," which is an extension of his earlier number "New Feats of Horsemanship." And yes, there is that humor here if you look for it--subtle, less of the horse-laugh type, but what of it? If we cannot laugh a little, we are doomed to get a POTUS who makes us all cry. And there is nothing funny about that. But I digress and the net bots hate digressions and punish accordingly, so...

This is a band that has great depth in the combination of Lundbom's very original guitar work, a formidable two-horn punch with Jon Irabagon and Balto Exclamationpoint (the artist formerly known as...), Moppa Elliot on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums (with his snare sounding especially fetching), or in other words a great rhythm team.

This EP is a rousing start to things. As important as anything they've put our way and some Lundbom guitar that will get you searching your pockets for a pick to play air guitar with....In short, excellent music!

This whole EP thing is a cool idea. You can of course purchase each one as it comes out. (The next volume is due April 1st). Or you can pre-order all four in advance from Hot Cup and save 15%. Finally, you can wait until they are all out and get the four in a box set. All the proceeds go to the artists! So why worry? Just dig into this music.