Bryan Murray & Jon Lundbom - Beats By Balto! V2

Bryan Murray & Jon Lundbom

Beats by Balto! V2

(Chant) chantrecords.com/releases/bryan-murray-jon-lundbom-beats-by-balto-vol-2/ or baltoexclamationpoint.bandcamp.com/album/beats-by-balto-vol-2

The final night of Winter Jazz Fest 2020 - the last WJF that could be experienced in person - featured that year's artist-in-residence, drummer Mark Guiliana, at the venue Nublu with several friends laying down some heavy grooves. A lot of bass and lot of drums - and a lot of people in the sold-out crowd were moving to the rhythms. 

I had just caught the tail end of a show at Nublu's second floor, where saxophonist JD Allen tore up the joint with some exquisitely detailed lines, fired up by just bass and drums. Despite missing most of his set, he still bowled me over. Going from that to what felt like a techno show with live instrumentation was a little bit of a let down. The Guiliana show  - which in retrospect was pretty cool - could have so much more with someone like Allen blowing over it.

Bryan Murray and Jon Lundbom understand, and they've created just such a musical monster on Beats by Balto! V2. The name comes from Murray's alter ego, Balto Exclamationpoint, which in turn comes from his mutant creation, the balto! saxophone, an alto fashioned with a baritone mouthpiece, held in place by toilet paper which creates a slew of bent multiphonics. In addition to being a saxophonist, Murray also knows how to create some serious beats. Facebook's "Jam of the week" has featured his creations extensively. Lundbom is a guitarist who leads several groups, including Big Five Chord (of which Murray is a member). 

The first Beats by Balto! album (2019) came about when Murray sampled tracks buy Big Five Chord. Lundbom, who had moved to Austin from New York, composed new music to go with the beats. While it sounds like a novelty, the horn work by Murray and Jon Irabagon (also a member of Big Five Chord) forged a connection between serious grooves and free improvisation. 

The new album takes things even further. In addition to Irabagon (who plays five different saxophones, plus alto clarinet), Murray (who plays four) and Lundbom, it includes appearances by bassists Moppa Elliot (whose Hot Cup imprint released Big Five Chord) and Richard Mikel, guitarist Nick Millevoi, trombonist Sam Kulick and keyboardist Matt Kanelos. 

This group isn't the only one merging loops with improvised jazz but the end result has an organic life to it that bites a lot harder than most other hybrids. "Battalions" is a reworked BFC song, but the displaced saxophone lines, the reversed guitar solo (Millevoi) and the beat blend so well, it becomes hard to separate the live from the loop. "Beat Like This" has a slinky groove and, following Murray's tenor solo, a mezzo-soprano solo by Irabagon that runs double-time over the rhythm section.

What's most exciting about the album is the way the crew repeatedly adds different surprises to the tracks, never relying on a set formula. The guitar in "Tears and Fists" has a high lonesome twang to it, with a subtle chord change underneath that takes to the tune beyond a riff. The saxophones fade-in to "Ex Machina" implies one rhythm, but once the beat arrives, they've tricked the ears, since they're playing on the off-beat, not the One. The slinky "Enter!" delivers some smooth funk, eventually giving way to a smoky 'bone solo by Kulik that has some off kilter sax and guitar adding color commentary. The album's three interludes also get a bit heavy and cut-up, with "Weak Sauce" sounding like something John Zorn would appreciate. But even there, Murray knows his limits and keeps them to a couple minutes or less.

Free jazz skronk is not what gets people onto the dancefloor, but maybe it's time has come. The horn melodies on Beats by Balto! V2 deliver ear candy, and the beats are pretty irresistible. Once that wins people over, some wailing solos can just make the kids gyrate even more.