Slow Poke - At Home 2007

Well-known indie jazz label Palmetto Records made its first foray into the digital only market with this raw and rootsy, blues influenced post-bop jam project by the N.Y.C. based avant-garde quartet. It's a safe project to create such an experiment with, a homemade session recorded back in 1998 at the Brooklyn home of group bassist Tony Scherr and later remastered in 2006. Despite the release of one official CD, Redemption in 2000, the group was, even years later, popular on more or less a grass roots level. Heavily influenced by singer/songwriters, Scherr, saxman and keyboardist Michael Blake, slide and baritone guitarist David Tronzo, and drummer Kenny Wollesen have a ball exploring the psychedelic blues-rock potential of Eddie Harris' "Listen Here" and reaping a slow, soulful "Harvest" from the Neil Young classic. Along the way, they're "Rockin' in Rhythm," bringing a blues jam sensibility to Duke Ellington, and dive into the hypnotic swamp on Kurt Wagner's "The Saturday Option." At Home also offers a glimpse at Blake's free-form compositional prowess on three originals, including the molasses paced "Dry Socket," which lets the listener know that this band is intent at times on living up to its name. AMG.

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Slow Poke - Redemption 1999

Many bop snobs would have us believe that all avant-garde jazz is nothing more than mindless, directionless noise. But it's foolish to make sweeping generalizations about any musical idiom. While there's nothing wrong with atonal free jazz, some of it is brilliant, listeners need to realize that not all avant-garde jazz is atonal. Avant-garde jazz can, in fact, be very melodic. A perfect example is Redemption by Slow Poke, an East Coast quartet that includes tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Blake, bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and a guitarist who simply goes by Tronzo. If Cecil Taylor, Charles Gayle, and Anthony Braxton are extremely avant-garde, Slow Poke is only mildly avant-garde. This diverse, generally impressive CD takes an inside/outside approach -- a lot more inside than outside -- and all of the tunes have discernible melodies. Much to its credit, Slow Poke as eclectic as it is musical; everything from North African and Middle Eastern music to blues, funk, and rock has influenced this 1998 session. Meanwhile, Slow Poke puts its interpretive powers to work on imaginative versions of Johnny Cash's "Redemption," Nirvana's "Been a Son," and the Rolling Stones' "Shine a Light," all of which lend themselves nicely to jazz makeovers. While many other jazz artists are content to inundate us with the same old Tin Pan Alley standards, Slow Poke realizes that rock and country songs can, in fact, be relevant to jazz. Redemption falls short of innovative, but it has a probing, adventurous spirit that was missing from many of the jazz recordings of the late '90s. AMG.

listen here

Slow Poke - Redemption 2000

Many bop snobs would have us believe that all avant-garde jazz is nothing more than mindless, directionless noise. But it's foolish to make sweeping generalizations about any musical idiom. While there's nothing wrong with atonal free jazz, some of it is brilliant, listeners need to realize that not all avant-garde jazz is atonal. Avant-garde jazz can, in fact, be very melodic. A perfect example isRedemption by Slow Poke, an East Coast quartet that includes tenor and soprano saxophonistMichael Blake, bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and a guitarist who simply goes by Tronzo. If Cecil Taylor, Charles Gayle, and Anthony Braxton are extremely avant-garde, Slow Poke is only mildly avant-garde. This diverse, generally impressive CD takes an inside/outside approach -- a lot more inside than outside -- and all of the tunes have discernible melodies. Much to its credit, Slow Poke as eclectic as it is musical; everything from North African and Middle Eastern music to blues, funk, and rock has influenced this 1998 session. Meanwhile, Slow Poke puts its interpretive powers to work on imaginative versions of Johnny Cash's "Redemption," Nirvana's "Been a Son," and the Rolling Stones' "Shine a Light," all of which lend themselves nicely to jazz makeovers. While many other jazz artists are content to inundate us with the same old Tin Pan Alley standards, Slow Poke realizes that rock and country songs can, in fact, be relevant to jazz. Redemption falls short of innovative, but it has a probing, adventurous spirit that was missing from many of the jazz recordings of the late '90s. AMG.

listen here

Buy @  Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Slow Poke - Redemption 2000

Many bop snobs would have us believe that all avant-garde jazz is nothing more than mindless, directionless noise. But it's foolish to make sweeping generalizations about any musical idiom. While there's nothing wrong with atonal free jazz, some of it is brilliant, listeners need to realize that not all avant-garde jazz is atonal. Avant-garde jazz can, in fact, be very melodic. A perfect example isRedemption by Slow Poke, an East Coast quartet that includes tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Blake, bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and a guitarist who simply goes by Tronzo. IfCecil Taylor, Charles Gayle, and Anthony Braxton are extremely avant-garde, Slow Poke is only mildly avant-garde. This diverse, generally impressive CD takes an inside/outside approach -- a lot more inside than outside -- and all of the tunes have discernible melodies. Much to its credit, Slow Poke as eclectic as it is musical; everything from North African and Middle Eastern music to blues, funk, and rock has influenced this 1998 session. Meanwhile, Slow Poke puts its interpretive powers to work on imaginative versions of Johnny Cash's "Redemption," Nirvana's "Been a Son," and the Rolling Stones' "Shine a Light," all of which lend themselves nicely to jazz makeovers. While many other jazz artists are content to inundate us with the same old Tin Pan Alley standards, Slow Poke realizes that rock and country songs can, in fact, be relevant to jazz. Redemption falls short of innovative, but it has a probing, adventurous spirit that was missing from many of the jazz recordings of the late '90s. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FRANCE - UK