City of Angles

"Thelonius Monk goes to the circus drunk" is how one listener describes it. Put another way, the music of the Industrial Jazz Group (IJG) is a new-fangled amalgamation of 50s, 60s and 70s acoustic jazz (bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, free jazz, modal jazz, third stream, etc.) with the kind of sounds, effects and compositional approaches often associated with the avant garde (xenochrony, multiple meters, musique concrete, sped-up tape, etc.). And as if that's not bad enough, all of this is filtered through a sometimes absurd sense of humor and a love for melody. 

Like their previous release Hardcore, City of Angles is a kind of jazz "concept album," a loosely-organized, slightly sardonic and yet affectionate portrayal of the city the group calls home; Los Angeles. Throughout the set the group retains its trademark wit, demonstrating a refreshingly ironic self-consciousness not often found in postmodern jazz. 

The word "industrial" in the group name is not a reference to "industrial" sounds, but a label for a compositional approach that focuses heavily on structure and form--an approach that gets at the "industry" (or craft), so to speak, of musical creation.

Formed by composer/pianist Andrew Durkin in the spring of 2000, the IJG performs regularly in the Los Angeles area. Members include: Evan Francis (alto sax/flute), Aaron Cohen (bass), Daniel Glass (drums), Scott Steen (trumpet), Cory Wright (saxes and clarinets), Noah Phililips (guitar), Garrett Smith (trombone), Lauri Goldenhersh (vocals), and Joe Tepperman (theremin).