Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Jazz musicians Sex Mob and Sharp come to 701 by Jonathan Garrick Gamecock Critic Sunday marks the beginning of a partnership between WUSC FM and Gallery 701 with a concert by New York City jazz group Sex Mob and avant-garde guitarist Elliot Sharp. The show will be heldat 8p.m. at Gallery 701,701 Whaley St. TTie cost for the show will be $6 for students and members of Gallery 701 and $7 for the general public. Sex Mob is a unique mixture of jazz, funk and pop that has become one of the most critical and popular jazz groups to arise from the New York jazz scene of the late ’90s. The cen ter and main composer of Sex Mob is slide trumpet player Steven Bernstein. Bern stein first rose to national attention as a member of the early l’90s critically acclaimed group Tire Lounge Lizards. After the breakup of The Lounge Lizards, Bernstein founded the trio Spanish Fly. In between time with Spanish Fly, he composed Oscar-nominated scores for “Get Shorty” and Robert Altman’s “Kansas City.” In 1997, Bernstein teamed up with avant-garde saxophone play Or R ri rrrron IT roi'ire -oo—-» drummer Kenny W) lie sen and Lounge Lizards bassist Tony Scherr to form Sex Mob. Their unique twist on classic rock tracks of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Sly and the Family Stone, Nirvana and others along with classic com positions quickly gained Sex Mob critical praise and a large fan base. Their first album, Din of Inequity, co released by Columbia Jazz and Knitting Fac tory Records, was a ma jor undeiground jazz hit and allowed the group to play with national acts like I hey Might Be Giants, Bootsy Collins, Digable Planets, Aretha Franklin and Mel Tonne. Their latest release, Solid Sender, was released early this year. The opening act is com poser, multi-instrumentalist and producer Sharp. He has as tounded audiences around the world with his experimental guitarwork. His projects have included the Carbon, Orches tra, Tectonics and Terraplane. He has performed and collabo rated with other avant-garde musicians such as John Zorn, Fred Frith and Qwwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ah Khan. Sharp has also composed soundtracks for films like “The Salt Mines,” “Daddy and the Muscle Acad emy” and “Crazy.” He has been profiled on Bravo, A&E and NBC. For a rare opportunity to hear a mixture of modem jazz and avant-garde music, don’t fail to darken the door, of Galleiy 701 on Sunday. Sex Mob’s latest release al so matures guest spots oy DJ Logic of Medeski, Martin and Wood fame, violinists Charlie Bum ham and Joan Wasser, and cellist Julia Kent. Sex Mob take stabs at tracks by rock groups like Nirvana V. nuuuiavjui uavis ricaicy v i^uii i Be Cruel”) and the Rolling Stones (“Ru by Tuesday”), along with jazz standards like Duke Ellington’s “The Mooch.” The original tracks on the album boast some great duels between Bernstein and Krauss and hard-hitting rhythms by Wblle son and Scherr. Along with the straight jazz composition, the al bum also boasts some interest ing avant-garde/free jazz experi mentation mainly from Krauss and Scherr. This album is rec ommended for fans of Medeski, Martin, and Wood, The Cocktails, Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, Span ish Fly, Ellington and The Lounge Lizards. On this release, one of Sharp’s more challenging and experi mental, the Canon group has been trimmed to a four-piece that in cludes electric harp player Zeena Parkins, bassist Marc Sloan, drum mer Joseph Tramp and David Wfeinstein on the sampler. Sharp himself broadens his musical input to include both the dou bleneck and bass guitars, saxophone and computer process ing. The main aesthetic behind this album is improvised per cussion, and lots of it. The percussion and samples range from iiuiuiiuuioi vuviigm uiiwuuvmuu ugimj juAiapuaou uuai to Sharp’s doubleneck guitar work and random sax bits. Although this album is predominatly improvised, it does not lack vision or pur pose. One of the main goals with this album is Sharp’s statement toward the aesthetic deadness of the “build-climax-fall-build” for mula that has guided classical, jazz and most types of popular mu _ sic. Sharp’s theory focus es on musical balance throughout the composi tions and not different “movements” or chord changes. It might sound boring, but the pure shock and hitting of the percus sion section keeps this al bum very interesting and makes it some of the most innovative work Sharp has composed in his career. Although this is not Sharp’s magnum opus (which has not yet been created), it is one of the most lushly developed and strangely accessible in the canon of this avant garde artist’s works. d -f 0 eB • * - W ' *•.. \'r Artist: Sex Mob Album: Solid Sender Rating: tout of sHHJrsJ Artist: Elliot bharp Album: Interference Rating: out of &&&& Special To The Gamecock (Above) The show’s headliner Sex Mob fuses jazz with the sounds of rock legends like The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Nirvana. (BeSow) Avant-garde jazz guitarist Elliot Sharp will provide the show’s opening act Who: The Sex Mob and Elliot Sharp What: Jazz When: 8 p.m. Sunday, March 19 Where: Gallery 701, 701 Whaley St. How (much): $6 - Members / Students $7 - General Why: Because we like you