@N-Zone Magazine - Music Zone
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Indie Spotlight

Wise Monkey Orchestra - The Live

They live, or they lIve? Don’t matter none. What springs up from 10 long spunk-jazz tracks makes everything a bitchy bass line, turns everything over in groovy jeans. The fuzz and the jazz and the improv soul that’s at the heart of this Monkey’s live set funks everything up to the daytime stars peering down.

The best thing about groups like this and tracks like the lengthy ‘Brainchild’ is that every soloist is given a chance to shine and do it in a way that doesn’t remove a second of respect from the many others doing their thing-s. Bassist Chad Stewart stirs up the mix right away in ‘Movin’ Free’, and there are wise, free times when the girl known as Alley lends her sweet voice to ‘Colorblind’ and ‘Demons’ tracks, pitching the words with more syllables than they were born with like a blind Janis Joplin.

But she leaves the long songs alone for the most part, and the band with 2 percussionists floats along somewhere between disco and a freestyle love for alternate chords and blended rhythms. 6 players strong, they lack for nothing. Even famed saxist Dave Ellis lends a few lips to the start of the album. Check out ‘SLM’ and ‘Hell Ain’t For Me’ for some of the best grooves around.

They’ve sold 20,000 copies of their 4 previous indie cds? Wow. Well, the production on this live album is pretty super, and not full of audience muffle. The music is alive and tends to coast on the technical side of brilliance at times. Easy to believe the Monkey is on many people’s backs.