Instrumental jazz trios got a bad rep for being either peddling extremely boring background muzak or overly experimental odd ball stuff that very few people are able to understand. None of this applies to NYC's Big Lazy, a trio led by guitarist Stephen Ulrich. Their out-of-the-box approach is highly accessible and challenging enough to satisfy the tastes of advanced musos. Their latest album Don't Cross Myrtle is cornucopia of genres and styles, all tied together by drummer Yuval Lion and bass player Andrew Hall.
From the spaghetti western Minor Problem via the slow swagger of The Low Way to the speakeasy vibe of Avenue X, the drecnched in echo Swampesque, the album makes it to Adrian Belew meets an angry brass player title track Don't Cross Myrtle before closing the door with the melancholic Whereabouts. A high quality all-you-can-eat album for gourmets.
Big Lazy:
Stephen Ulrich: guitars
Yuval Lion: drums
Andrew Hall: acoustic bass
Don't Cross Myrtle is released on Tasankee Records. Buy it from their website.
Tracks:- Minor Problem
- Unswerving
- The Low Way
- Human Sacrifice
- Black Sheep
- Avenue X
- Night Must Fall
- Swampesque
- Bring me the head of Lee Marvin
- Don't Cross Myrtle
- Whereabouts
- 09/04 Barbes, Brooklyn, NY (First Friday series)
- 09/09 Tellus 360, Lancaster, PA
- 09/10 MOTR Pub, Cincinatti, OH
- 09/11 The Hideout, Chicago, IL with The Claudettes
- 09/12 Cliff Bell’s, Detroit, MI
- 09/13 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
- 09/25 Cuisine en Local, Somerville, MA
- 09/26 Meeting of the Minds Jazz Festival, Schuykill Haven, PA
- 10/02 Barbes, Brooklyn, NY (First Friday series)
- 10/17 Blue Live, Portland, ME
- 11/06 Barbes, Brooklyn, NY (First Friday series)
- 12/04 Barbes, Brooklyn, NY (First Friday series)
