Hasselbring, Curtis / Number Stations
Album: Number Stations   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Hasselbring, Curtis   Added:May 2013
Label:Cuneiform Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2013-05-13 Pull Date: 2013-07-15 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Jul 14 Jun 30 Jun 23 Jun 16 Jun 9 Jun 2 May 26 May 19
Airplays: 2 2 1 2 3 2 1 3

Recent Airplay
1. Jan 03, 2014: No Cover, No Minimum: Remembering 2013
Tux Is Traitor
4. Jun 27, 2013: Tlön: An Investigation
Tux Is Traitor
2. Jul 13, 2013: Music Casserole
37º 56' 39" By 111º 32'
5. Jun 23, 2013: feral pop frenzy
First Bus To Bismarck
3. Jul 11, 2013: Rebop
First Bus To Bismarck
6. Jun 20, 2013: Rebop
First Bus To Bismarck

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2013-05-12
CURTIS HASSELBRING: Number Stations
Cuneiform, 2013

WEIRDO JAZZ – Love this!! Trombonist/guitarist Hasselbring leads a septet full of unique voices in a strange avant/spy-jazz mashup. There’s a sense of paranoia and noir mystery throughout as these tunes chug, grind, and thump their way along. But there’s lots of sly humor too: this band can (and does) leap sideways into a slap-happy groove, a balls-out rock jam, or free-improv chaos at any time. Great stuff.

PS - I wasn't aware of it when I wrote the above review, but these tunes were inspired by a real phenomenon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

Curtis Hasselbring : trombone, guitar
Chris Speed : tenor sax, clarinet
Mary Halvorson : guitar
Matt Moran : vibraphone, marimba
Trevor Dunn : bass
Ches Smith : drums, marimba
Satoshi Takeishi : drums, percussion

All good! Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 4, 6

1. 7:51 – clattering perc & tense patter breaks into a nervous, churning thump
2. 7:57 – low morse-code rhythm: spooky vibes, slow horns and jittery guitars
3. 6:53 – herky-jerky intro to goofy Caribbean-cruise glide, then dark & mopey
4. 4:21 – raucous, rockin’ groove; dives into free-jazz w/wild guitar, ends calm
5. 10:27 – pensive intro slips into an upbeat thump, a vibes/drum rush, extra-lumpy sax/guitar break, gently swaying ensemble, and drum duet
6. 4:32 – tentative improvisational sound, everybody pokes and prods at it
7. 1:52 – brash groove mixed with tightly-arranged parallel threads
8. 6:25 – great drums give way to a goofy-cutesy ditty, slides into weirdness

[ Fo ] - 12 May 2013

Track Listing
1. First Bus To Bismarck   5. It's Not A Bunny
2. Tux Is Traitor   6. Stereo Jack's Bluegrass J's
3. Make Anchor Babies   7. Avoid Sprinter
4. Green Dress, Maryland Welcome Center, 95 Nb   8. 37º 56' 39" By 111º 32'