the good people at All About Jazz were kind enough to give the new album a listen and their writer C. Michael Bailey offers this review:
Chicago-native AJ Kluth was educated at that city's DePaul University before freelancing around the Midwest and transcribing and self-publishing a book of Chris Potter solos. On Twice Now he leads a guitar anchored quintet through nine lengthy and provocative pieces, seven of which were composed by Kluth or guitarist Nick Ascher.
The simpatico between Kluth and Ascher extends from the pair's compositions to their respective performances. Although under Kluth's name, Twice Now is effectively a collaborative effort by the saxophonist and guitarist.
The relationship between the two, as well as with pianist Sean McCluskey, is defined on the Ascher composition "Red" that opens the disc. Over McCluskey's spare piano chording, Kluth and Ascher double on a devilishly complex melody line. While Kluth is more Michael Brecker than Wayne Shorter (or Sonny Rollins), Ascher is more John Abercrombie than John Scofield. These comparisons are loose at best as both artists have very characteristic sounds. Kluth sports a full-throated muscular tenor and sinewy soprano, while Ascher is distorted at the edges, giving his guitar a slight rock tone.
Kluth and Ascher achieve a delicate dance of counterpoint throughout the disc, easily heard on "A Time, Times, And Half Time" and "Wi Fi," the latter containing a lyrical solo by McCluskey on acoustic piano. "Quiet, Then Go" is a breezy Kluth ballad accentuating the stronger points of Kluth and Ascher's slower soloing. Chick Corea's "Litha" fits perfectly with the originals as a smart and edgy piece not fully smooth at the edges, providing just enough bite for pleasure.
Ascher's airy ballad "Sleeping" dovetails well into one of the more inspired covers in recent memory, Thom York's "Atoms For Peace."
Read the whole review, "The State of the Tenor: AJ Kluth and Ricky Sweum" at
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33949
also, Richmond Jazz chimed in with:
A polished saxophone tone over gritty distorted guitar and heavily metered grooves is the formula, if there is one, for Chris Potter's Underground. Saxophonist AJ Kluth's newest release shows, at times, many similarities to his elder in jazz. At Kluth's age, it's difficult to escape the influence of Potter, one of today's main tenor saxophone heroes. But at 29 years old, he has assembled a formidable ensemble capable of both being inspired by and setting itself apart from such trend-setting groups. Kluth only contributes three original compositions to the record, but they stand out as the most cohesive, best executed, and most attractive tunes of the lot, even over their arrangements of Chick Corea's uptempo "Litha" and Thom Yorke's "Atoms For Peace." Unison melody with guitar and saxophone is a trend in almost every piece. The melody of Ascher's composition "Sleeping" contains this technique, and although its melodic arch is beautiful and the repetition is entrancing, by track 8 the technique is dangerously close to becoming old hat.
check that out at
http://www.rvajazz.com/2009/08/new-releases-from-oa2-records.html
dig the new changes in weather from Really hot to Kinda hot. more music happening. l'Orchestre Super Vitesse will have a month long residency at The Whistler in October to be followed by a recording at Coach House Studios. i'm excited to have the band recorded directly to tape - such a different concept than digital tracking, it'll be great. cheers!
it's finally happened - i've put together another project: ALDRIC.