Redefining the American Bar Band

Bobby Previte: Airstrip One and Memory Hole
From: The Coalition of the Willing [Ropeadope 2006)

I regret that it was only until recently that I familiarized myself with New York composer and percussionist Bobby Previte, who has got to be one of the most exciting musicians working today. First a brief introduction: Previte grew up in upstate New York, where his first drum kit was fashioned out of metal garbage cans, aluminum pie plates, and wire coat hangers. His formal studies took place at the University of Buffalo, where he studied with John Cage and Morton Feldman before he permanently settled in NYC and became a fixture of the growing "downtown" experimental jazz scene of the 1980s. For the past 25 years he has cut his teeth on records from the likes of John Zorn and Tom Waits.

Among the half-dozen of Previte's current projects is a collective called the Coalition of the Willing, a sort of warped bar band devoted to his eclectic instrumental compositions. For their self-titled release on Ropeadope Records last year, Previte recruited guitarist Charlie Hunter (who eschews his usual 8-stringed bass/guitar hybrid for a Telecaster), keyboardist Jamie Saft, and Seattle's Skerik on saxophones. One could be forgiven to expect a whirlwind of electric improvisation with a group like this, yet instead the focus is on Previte's uniquely skewed compositions; the album contains elements of '70s fusion, classic hard rock, reggae, new wave, Hawaiian surf, psychedelia, spy music, avant-garde jazz, and pretty much every other genre of music under the sun. What looks like a contrived, stylistic disaster on paper actually translates quite well to the record, mostly due to the caliber of the musicians here and Previte's remarkable skills as a composer.

"Airstrip One" opens with a rolling drum pattern that features the assistance of Stanton Moore on second kit, and alternates between a long siren-like wailing from the guitar and a series of exploratory bass solos, both from the versatile Hunter. Then midway through, Hunter rips off a blues lick to kick off a groove that sounds like an outtake from Miles' A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1970). "Memory Hole" is more subtle, a tone-poem of colors that advances cautiously, buoyed by Saft's shimmering electric piano and a soft pulse from Previte - that strange harmonica-like sound is Steve Bernstein's "slide trumpet." Unexpectedly, Previte shifts to a 6/8 swing, the bass begins to walk, and Hunter takes the opportunity to display his blues chops again before returning to the opening theme.

Although the record doesn't necessarily push the envelope in terms of jazz composition or arranging, it's still an exciting hybrid of rock and jazz that comes highly recommended for those looking for something a little different. The live band is supposed to be a monster on stage, which I imagine would be a much better interaction with the music if Previte gets the group together to tour again.