Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
River Sessions [Live] [Import]
Images Book 1 / Gaspard De La Nuit / 5 Jazz Etudes
Music: Old, new, borrowed and blue
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor [CD-single] [Import]
Heathen [Limited Edition w/Bonus Disc] [Enhanced] [Limited Edition]
Amazon.com
That the Crown Royals have seen this recording and its predecessor, All Night Burner, released on the small garage-rock label Estrus Records is apt notification that this quartet plays heart-churning music. Tenor saxophonist--and 1999 MacArthur Foundation "genius"--Ken Vandermark toes a soulful line here, eschewing the free-jazz explosions of his 1998 work on the AALY trio's Stumble and the ironclad latticework of his excellent Vandermark 5. No matter how much less free-jazzy they are, the Crown Royals play with an abundance of whole-group cohesion, with Pete Nathan's slinky guitar setting a Booker T. & the MG's vibe and Jeff BBQ's drums kicking considerable dust. --Andrew Bartlett