Story This Time, The

Stein, Jason Quartet
Delmark Records
Jazz | Mar 2012

Reviews

Be Sharp
Reviewed 2012-05-13
For folks who like the low down. Jason Stein plays bass clarinet. He’s joined by Keefe Jackson on tenor sax and contrabass clarinet. (Rhythm section is bass & drums.) Get ready for some unusual sounding—but damn good—jazz. The album starts out fairly straightforward, but gets quite strange in the middle.

All instrumental. No FCC issues.

1 Just a warm up. (2:43)
2 * Worth a listen, but be ready for strange, gloopy sounds. (9:16)
3 ** Fast, snappy, and fun. Various sounds and textures. Nifty drum solo on the rims. (8:12)
4 *** Up-tempo T. Monk tune. Syncopated rhythm; complex counterpoint. (6:02)
5 ** Fast, complex. A lot going on here. Starts with a bass solo, then a tuba-like contrabass. Several long solo lines on bass clarinet, ranging from fun to downright wacky. (8:23)
6 * Quite free (squawks, squeaks) for first 1-1/2 min. Then a playful, Lee Konitz classic. (5:34)
7 Avant-garde. Bits of melody, interrupted by squeaks, honks, cymbal crashes. (6:15)
8 Wild take on a Monk tune. Bass and contrabass clarinets play a melody in near unison for the first minute. Then all hell breaks loose: squeaks, animal honks, all sorts of weird stuff. (5:53)
9 Slow. Low intro by reeds, then a drum solo (mostly cymbals). Goes out with a loud, lunatic bass clarinet accompanied by drums and cymbals. (7:41)
10 * Mid-tempo T. Monk tune. Strange, but interesting and enjoyable. Bass and (ultra low, hippo-grunting) contrabass clarinets playing ensemble. A swinging rhythm on drums. (3:23)
11 ** Super fast. (Lennie Tristano composition) Straightforward jazz with blues & Dixieland influences. Good steady drumming; lots of cymbals. Delightful. (3:05)

Recent airplay

Badlands
RebopJul 24, 2012
Badlands
maximum entropyJul 18, 2012
Little Big Horse
RebopJul 17, 2012
Lennie Bird
RebopJun 26, 2012
Skippy
RebopJun 12, 2012

Charting

2012-05-26 — 2012-07-29 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Jul 29 1
Jul 22 2
Jul 1 1
Jun 17 1
Jun 10 2
Jun 3 2

Track listing

1. Background Music
2. Laced Case
3. Little Big Horse
4. Skippy
5. Badlands
6. Palo Alto
7. Hatoolie
8. Gallop's Gallop
9. Hoke's Dream
10. Work
11. Lennie Bird