Mosh for Lovers

The Bloomdaddies are essentially a rock band, with tenor saxophonists Seamus Blake and Chris Cheek in the role of dueling lead guitars. That's meant almost literally — the horns are put through the wringer of effects until, on tracks like "Boogins" and "One Note Mosh," they start sounding like Les Pauls grinding out power chords and wailing leads. Blake and Cheek also delve heavily into the kinds of wah and phase effects once explored by the great Eddie Harris. On mellower tracks like "Some Small Ecstasy" they can even bring to mind the ethereal, intersecting guitar lines of Television's Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. The band has a funkmeister of a bassist in Jessie Murphy, who also contributes more-than-capable vocals on two tracks. And there are three — count them, three — drummers (Tony Mason, Dan Rieser, and Jorge Rossy), which you'd think would be bombastic but isn't at all. In part, this sophomore release is part of a wider phenomenon, as more and more young jazz musicians engage rock and funk on a legitimately creative level. Seamus Blake may have won the 2002 Monk competition, but that's not all there is to him and his musicianship. ~ David R. Adler, Rovi