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PauseRecord
www.pauserecord.com (link)
WISE MONKEY ORCHESTRA, "THEY LIVE"
Week of November 14 - 28, 2000The easiest comparison to describe this music is to the funk of Deep Banana Blackout, but that is hardly precise. While they explore some of the same territory as DBB, Wise Monkey Orchestra's music is more nuanced and slightly less in your face, despite its burning jam- funk-jazz-rock-soul groove. This San Diego-based sextet features guitar, bass, drums, keys, trombone and the vocals of a woman identified only as Alley, but on this record, which was recorded live over several California dates in early-Y2K, the majority of tracks also feature contributions from saxophonists Dave Ellis (Charlie Hunter Trio, Ratdog, The Other Ones) or Robbie Helm. Alley's sensuous growling vocals can cause some purring in listeners, but the band is truly at its best when jamming instrumentally. The Latin flavored cha-cha groove of "SLM" and the improvisational "Space" > "Brainchild" (which features trombonist Andy Gelb on a flute reminiscent of that sometimes found in the music of Lonnie Smith or George Clinton) make this record worth exploring alone.