CL1 Strategy
"World House" b/w "I Have to Do This Thing" 12"
CL7 Evolutionary Jass Band Change of Scene
CD, mp3
Release Date: April 2006
Tracklist:
1. Aunt Dot
2. Change of Scene
3. Phillys' FrindgeHEAR IT! (click for 224k mp3)
4. Mercury
5. DevotionHEAR IT! (click for 224k mp3)
ComLib are proud to present the debut release
from one of Portland's most unique and wonderful
bands, the Evolutionary Jass Band. The group has
slowly but steadily made a name for themselves
locally for powerful and frequent performances at
a wide variety of venues.
Bandleader Jefrey Brown and drummer Michael
Henrickson were longtime key members of the
Portland/New York improvisatory Jackie-O-Mother-
fucker. The Jass Band, in contrast to JOMF's
rotating-lineup adventures and cross-genre free-
wheeling, focus on the jazz idiom, and their exist-
ence is in many ways a meditation on the nature
of being a working band in the age of ad-hoc
collaborations and long-distance recording affairs.
Relying on a delicate balance between compo-
sitional tact and way out improvisation, the band
is able to refer to a historically weighted jazz
vocabulary while building on it with confidence. The
group has grown to a sextet under Brown's
guidance, and has brought incredible force, beauty,
and raw honesty to Portland's often overly-
academic improv scene. Change of Scene reflects
the band's combinations of Ethiopian-influenced
modal riffing, the built-in wobbliness of New Orleans
proto-jazz and American band music, as well as
more modern sonic referents like '70s afro-centric
experimental soul-jazz or clangorous, driving
experimental rock of the 90s. Not resting on the
laurels of reference points, the band continues
to record new material reflecting their intuitive
approach and absolutely pure dedication to their
art.