Theo Czuk - The Black Bottom
Theo Czuk’s multi-pronged artistic life
encompasses prose, poetry, songwriting, and musicianship with such all
consuming energy you’ll be forgiven if you wonder when he finds time to
breathe, let alone sleep. You can hear the unfettered joy of creation come
across in each of the dozen songs on his newest release The Black Bottom, a
collection subtitled Cultivating Jazz: The Full Measure, and the full measure
he alludes to is the mighty task of surveying an entire genre within the course
of twelve relatively brief songs. The level of musicianship behind these
performances is extraordinarily high and never tests the listener’s patience.
Much of that can be attributed to his seemingly endless wellspring of melodies
at his disposal and the chemistry between Czuk and the musicians he’s enlisted
to help make this album a reality. The Black Bottom is a powerful release, but
it doesn’t beat on its chest with false bluster. Instead, it makes its case
through inspiration and a commanding mastery of fundamentals.
“The Black Bottom” starts the album off
impressively thanks to its bass line and wildly inventive keyboard playing.
It’s also an early illustration of how these musicians never get carried away
with themselves as the organ work could clearly overstep at any given moment
but never does. His personality and charisma really comes across with the song
“Cold Corridor” and he does a miraculously effective job of dramatizing the
lyrical material. His writing doesn’t intend to remake the wheel, but it is
nonetheless extremely sharp and it’s impossible to not be impressed by his
talent for selecting memorable details. His charisma comes through again as a
singer with the song “Let It Swing” and, for pure entertainment value, it’s
arguably one of the finest moments on The Black Bottom. Another entertaining
track comes with the songs “Nika Nightingale (Is It Real?)” and “Wooden
Nickels” and they are particularly distinguished by Czuk’s undeniably funny but
truly unique sense of humor, punchy choruses in each song, and a solid approach
to the vocals. Sandwiched between these two songs, rather improbably, is his
musical adaptation of Kenneth Patchen’s poem “Lunch Wagon on Highway 57” and it
captures every bit of that Beat poetry married to music feel that Czuk is
obviously seeking.
“Good Night’s Sleep” is a romping jazz
number with a memorable mix of the serious and comical that is as polished as
someone could hope for while the track “Pi to the Nth Degree” has great
ambiance recalling the earlier “Cold Corridor” but with a distinctly upbeat
slant. It sounds wide-eyed and enchanted with great melodies and changes
carrying the day. “Catalina Eddy” is another loose, yet expertly delivered
number with a warm spirit and even tosses in some play instrumental nods that
will bring a smile to listener’s faces. The Black Bottom wraps up with a final
instrumental, “Closing Time”, which plays to some popular tropes in the style
but proves to be convincing closer in every respect. Theo Czuk’s bold
experiment has paid off handsomely and it’s sure to bring tremendous enjoyment
to anyone willing to give it a chance.
Pamela Bellmore
No comments:
Post a Comment