Go to Press Page 2

SKERIK'S SYNCOPATED TAINT SEPTET
Archived Press Clips

JUNE 23, 2006
Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet
Husky
[Hyena]

"The way I see it, the slow death of jazz has been created by individuals more conservative than most right-wing politicians." So says the Seattle tenor saxophonist known as Skerik. (Do you think the Marsalises are listening?) "Rather than allowing that to drag us down," he says, "we actually do the reverse and draw inspiration from it."

The name of his group, we're told, derives from the "syncopated taint" of moral decay in America that came from jazz and marijuana, as described by America's first "drug czar," Harry J. Anslinger.

This, clearly, is an alt-jazz bunch full of pith and vinegar and energy. One of the tunes on its new disc - which, according to its publicity assumes funk and hip-hop to take the place in jazz that blues and gospel once did - is called "Go to Hell, Mr. Bush." The music is similarly aggressive and unambiguous. It's wild, phantasmagoric, full of sonic variety and the roar of a septet playing together (the group's instrumentation is tenor, baritone sax/clarinet, alto, trombone, Hammond B-3 and drums - no bass player).

The music is superb - inventive, exciting, disheveled, mangy and, by Lincoln Center standards, inspirationally ill-behaved.

- J.S.

JUNE 23, 2006

Husky
Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet | Hyena Records  

By Graham L. Flanagan

Harry J. Anslinger, the United States’ original Drug Czar, invented an unusual term to sum up what he considered as the moral decay caused by the collision of the jazz and drug cultures in the 1930s and 1940s: “syncopated taint.”


Popular tenor sax phenom Skerik—fresh off of a 2005 tour with Mike Clark’s Headhunters—adopted the name for his septet, whose new album Husky further cements the leader’s reputation as one of the heavy hitters of the post bop/trip-hop movement.


Recorded in Los Angeles in the span of just one day, Husky serves not as a showcase for Skerik alone, but rather as a chance for his unique tone (which at times sounds like the wicked stepchild of Dexter Gordon’s) to mesh with the septet’s formidable horn section. What makes this aspect of the ensemble so unique is the often evil tone of baritone player Craig Flory, whose low-register bursts supply the album with instances of atonality that cause it to transcend the genre of funk, with which Skerik is normally associated.


That shouldn’t suggest, however, that the album isn’t funky. On the contrary—there’s plenty of funk to go around, especially on tracks that feature trombonist Steve Moore doubling on Wurlitzer, creating a sound that immediately recalls the later work of Medeski Martin and Wood. However, drummer John Wicks’ fascination with incorporating various time signatures into a single song gives the listener nary a chance to settle into an individual frame of mind.


Although it was recorded in a studio, Husky emanates a simultaneously relaxed and intense improvisational feel that will only motivate the listener to seek out the group in person, as well as to undergo repeated listens in order to truly fathom the various sonic layers impossible to comprehend in just one sitting. Long live the Taint!

JUNE 27, 2006
SKERIK'S SYNCOPATED TAINT SEPTET
Husky (Hyena)

The Syncopated Taint Septet is saxophonist Skerik's playful and at times daring band. Most of the group -- Hans Teuber, Craig Flory, John Wicks, Dave Carter, Steve Moore and Joe Doria -- arose from the Seattle experimental jazz scene. On "Husky," the septet is spacey, funky and occasionally as mellow as a soul jazz ensemble. "Syncopate the Taint" has the swinging cacophony of Sun Ra's Orkestra, "Song for Bad" is beautiful, mournful soul, and "The Third Rail" is a noir soundtrack. The players are still experimenting but their creativity is focused and like-minded. (Roberta Penn)

GRADE: A

JULY 2006
Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet
Husky
Hyena

By Todd A. Price

The jazz group Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet, or ST7, sounds like an eclectic jukebox jittering randomly between albums. The deadly confident collective, led by the Seattle-based tenor saxophonist who goes by the single name Skerik, has the talent to make that blend sound natural. Husky, their second album, was recorded in a single day after the group came off a tour. After many gigs on the road, the septet plays like a band of psychics predicting each other’s moves.

ST7 couldn’t exist without the genre-hopping albums of John Zorn. Hip-hop DJs’ affection for old jazz grooves was necessary before ST7 could exist. The cool kids had to first embrace lounge. Both saxophone quartets and New Orleans brass bands, with their weaving and bobbing horn lines, were needed for ST7 to exist. Funk rhythms were another necessary element. And, most importantly, ST7 owes a debt it will never repay to Duke Ellington.

Too many jazz musicians desperately want the attention of people under 30. Too many groups become obsessed with grooves and never move beyond that. But ST7 is a marvel of musicianship, with each player knowing when to interject an innovative turn and when to step back. Some tracks are built over an echoing riff, such as “Go to Hell Mr. Bush.” At other times, for example on “Don’t Wanna,” a melody and swinging rhythm section set the pace. With five horns, ST7 can play with tremendous power, but the septet can also be as nimble as an athlete. Husky, crackling with energy and ingenuity, makes it clear that ST7 is a group to watch.

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet
Husky

by Sarah Moore

Syncopated Taint (noun): the term used by the 1st U.S. Drug Czar, Harry J. Anslinger, to describe the nation’s moral decay as caused by jazz and marijuana.

“Jazz to me has always been about taking the root and creating something new with it. For the Septet, we’re always listening to new things and all of those various influences assimilate into our collective sound,” says Skerik. As a rule of thumb, it seems that everything Skerik has a hand in equals automatic gold. Husky is no exception to this general rule; in fact, it may be the most solid album in Skerik’s discography. Fusing hip-hop and funk with a various assortment of other genres, the Septet cranks out the tightest, loose sound in years.

While their previous self-titled record on Ropeadope seemed more haphazard in a coming-together-at-the-last-minute sort of way, Husky has a more robust polish to it. The last minute changes in direction are livelier, and the record is wrought with that certain edge. That edge being the difference between practicing by going through the motions and practicing with every bit of self one can muster, showing up to take the same piece of music past notch eleven.

Beyond the logistics, there is a deeper intelligence associated with it. Band members infuse their political leanings with the synergy of their sounds. “Go to Hell, Mr. Bush,” reflects an ardent cynicism toward the conservative suffocation of the jazz world. From John Wicks’ (drums) varying approaches to rhythm to Joe Doria’s erratic Hammond B-3 to the five-member strong horn line (including Craig Flory, Dave Carter, Hans Tueber, and Steve Moore), the passion of the musicians falls in line with the brazen nature of the tunes.
Balancing the sound of seven band members must take a good ear. On their previous effort, it proved a tad overbearing, but this time around the mix and dynamics create a perfect sound for its time.

(CINCINNATI, OH)

JULY 6, 2006

SKERIK'S SYNCOPATED TAINT SEPTET -- HUSKY (HYENA)

Named for founder/tenor saxophonist Skerik (a member of Les Claypool's Frog Brigade and Fusion act Garage A Trois) and a phrase from the U.S.'s first drug czar Harry J. Anslinger ("syncopated taint" was his surprisingly poetic way of describing the pot-and-Jazz-fueled decline of society), Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet crafts open-ended but tightly rhythmic, radical Jazz that indulges modern devices like Hip Hop and Electronica-like rhythms, yet still resonates with the progressive attitude of some of Jazz's greatest innovators. Textural and exploratory, the dynamic compositions on the Septet's second CD unfold organically (the group recorded the whole set in one day and eschewed digital recording in favor of analog, two-inch tape), and the arrangements are dizzyingly diverse, pausing for dramatic breaths or shifting with an almost channel-surfer-like rapidity. With four horn players, mellifluous Hammond organ and some remarkably instinctive drumming from John Wicks, SSTS saunter through compelling numbers like the slinky, cinematic "Song For Bad," the Neo-Soul-meets-The-Headhunters funkiness of "Fry His Ass," the skittish "Go to Hell, Mr. Bush" and the angular, menacing "Daddy Won't Taint Bye-Bye," which is part neo-avant-garde, part Prog Rock. If Mingus were still around, he might not be making music like SSTS, but he'd sure as hell dig what these cats are doing. (Mike Breen) Grade: A

Metroland (Albany, NY)

Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet
Husky (Hyena)

Skerik, the tenor saxophonist who leads this exceptional Seattle-based group, is an agent provocateur of jazz, a fearless conceptualist who steers a gang of similarly subversive swingers into uncharted territory where “outside” and funk meet pop. The Meters cohabit with Henry Mancini in Syncopated Taint’s universe; everybody here writes, from Wurlitzer genius Joe Doria to trombone magician Steve Moore to, of course, the sweet-toned and tantalizing Skerik. The tunes rock; even in “Syncopate the Taint,” a cacophonous stew indeed, the pulse never becomes unmoored. That tune is joyous, traversing wild blowing, Craig Flory’s double-time baritone sax underlining Doria’s skirling organ, all kinds of falling apart and coming together. “Taming the Shrew” is another place altogether; Flory’s bari gooses Doria’s dainty Wurlitzer while the other horns take shadow spots in a sophisticated dance. The music is vividly pictorial.

I’m not quite clear what points Skerik and his Seattle colleagues are trying to make, but I’m sure their agenda is political, with titles like “Go To Hell, Mr. Bush,” “Fry His Ass” and “Irritant.” Improvisation so visceral and brave is inherently political; bet on it, Skerik and his buds aren’t comfortable with the status quo. Skerik also figures in “Coalition of the Willing,” a great Bobby Previte disc just released on Ropeadope (which released Syncopated Taint’s first album). Skerik first came to prominence in Seattle band Critters Buggin, named to make fun of a phrase the destructive head narc Harry Anslinger once applied to jazz, which anti-stoner Anslinger considered far inferior to “good” music. May Skerik continue to roil the jazz waters. This is one of the coolest albums of the year.

—Carlo Wolff

Husky

Hyena; 2006

As a general rule I try not to read the biography for an album before I review it, as I would prefer to let the music speak for itself and not be influenced by a press kit. For some reason I briefly went through the bio for this new project by Seattle saxophonist Skerik, and it touched on the fact that a lot of new jazz today is influenced by funk and hip-hop, as if that was a bad thing. A lot of what we know as funk today has roots in jazz, and some of the best sample-based hip-hop comes from jazz records which were also considered funky. The idea that jazz needs to borrow from hip-hop as something bad seems silly, since the influence is going back to its own roots.

That’s what Skerik has done since his days with Critters Buggin and all of the session work he has done in the last 15 years, the idea that one can explore the world of music but stick to what made you a musician in the first place.  That idea is explored in Husky by Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet, and is heard within the first few seconds of the opening track, “The Third Rail.” It sounds like the sound of a calm city about to get busy, figuratively and literally.  Joe Doria plays a thick and grimy melody on the Hammond organ, and the septet start driving their point home.  But home seems to be far away, so as they make their journey they are going to talk a bit.  They do this by talking to each other and the listener through music, whether it’s through a few bursts of bebop or kicking it hard with some mean ass funk.

Throughout the album, Skerik’s septet seem to be exploring different styles of jazz, not so much trying to prove a point about anything but to celebrate the beauty of jazz in all of its forms, including free jazz.  Skerik can play with finesse, but he’ll bite the reed if he has to, only for the other musicians to lock into each other’s heads and make sure every bar and hook is a smooth transaction.  In a hip-hop context, it sounds like someone dipping into a healthy collection and creating an incredible jazz set.  In this case it’s all played live, where influences and references move in and out, while the listener is locked in and stays for the duration.  Husky can be as scatterbrained as some of Medeski, Martin & Wood’s most recent albums, but also as solid as a well-written Issac Hayes score.

Also of note: as I was listening to the first song I noticed a certain warmth and openness to the drums, and immediately I sensed what it was.  I had to drop everything and look at the cover and my assumption was correct: the album was recorded and mixed in analog.  The influence and the influenced going back to its own roots.  Fantastic.

– John Book

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet

Husky (hyena)
by Robert R. Calder

Reversing the usual formula, this isn’t an album made prior to touring or after too short an engagement with the music. Skerik’s Syncopated Tain Septet had already played this music on tour, and recorded the whole set in one day, on two-track tape. The result is a long way from the one-rehearsal-too-many syndrome. So, stiflingly excessive preparation successfully eschewed, but…

The second track here, “Go to Hell, Mr. Bush”, begins with soft lyrical far east flute, before the march-dancing drums kick in (only momentarily absent), then the horns do a call and response thing. The whole affair is Middle Eastern with trumpet outcries, and the solo saxophone and horn-plus-Hammond arrangement would recall Far East Ellington if Ellington had ever superimposed metrically rigid drumming. Hans Teuber plays nice flute, while the drumming is good when it stops. I don't blame the drummer, who performs very well without his continual reiteration of the obligatory, but that repetitious pattern weighs down the whole album.

“Syncopate the Taint” has even more Ellington before somebody stands on a saxophone’s toe (calm down, don’t scream!). There is a lot of wit in the playing. Sonny Thompson, a terrific veteran jazz pianist, produced similar things on King label singles fifty years back, among the minimalist R&B which market forces seemed to impose.  But again, he didn't have that Dumme up-front drumming. I mean, you can have the rhythm without spelling it out. Ellington fans who have winced at the late Sam Woodyard’s longtime demonstration of an inability to imply accents might be horrified to hear that someone here has been given the job of being worse. I imagine the steady laying out of all the accents could be helpful when playing along with it, but I find it variously close to unlistenable.

Thompson also didn't have the luscious comedy of Skerik in almost the same chorus performing a melodic transcription of hawk-and-spit rhythm, then swinging over into ripe hyper-rhapsody with an amazing swell of tone. To cite Skerik’s own blurb, he’s more on a Mingus kick here, and the accelerando passage has the relieving merit of being free from the steady beat of the drum. Again, I’m not blaming the drummer, but his brief does get in the way of appreciating a wholly commendable clarinet solo from Craig Flory, a nice baritone player with a neat buffo line of rinky tink comedy, when required.

There is some very good music here; the band’s name is drawn from an ancient political attack on a combination of jazz and marijuana influences made some three quarters of a century ago. Ironically, I just think this is interesting music tainted and even buried under pedantic syncopations. I could say more about the music, and I can suggest that some people might not be as repelled as I am by the metronomism, the beat that is too insistent to be phrased over. But these guys are too talented to be tied to that monotony. If they interested me less, I’d be less irked. And no, it’s not a hip-hop influence. It’s an unmusical mistake.

JULY 13, 2006

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Husky (Hyena)

Boosted by funk and hip-hop beats, a five-horn frontline bumps like an acid-fueled N'awlins street parade, augmented by Hammond organ and assorted electronic mayhem. One-named saxophonist Skerik, of Garage a Trois and Les Claypool's band, has assembled a top-flight ensemble to play these layered compositions, which display deep jazz roots but are hardly hidebound.

Coined by America's first drug czar, Harry J. Anslinger, the term syncopated taint was employed to wag a finger at the mix of jazz and weed that would put its stamp on pop culture in the 1930s and '40s. It seems an appropriate name for Skerik and company's brand of reefer madness. They give a 21st-century spin to the traditions of jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, thanks to the versatile drumming of John Wicks -- whose beats can call up The Funky Meters or A Tribe Called Quest with equal fluency -- and the aggressive, textured Hammond playing of Joe Doria.

The opening Third Rail teases the roar of an approaching train and benefits from bangup production by engineer Husky Hoskulds, who receives the honor of having the album named for him. The slow-building Go to Hell, Mr. Bush begins with lilting flute and Wurlitzer but intensifies as the horns provide a chorus of discontentment. Fry His Ass employs a similar escalation, as a cacophony of brass, reeds and Hammond organ sounds off with acerbic glee.

The Seattle-based Skerik initially planned on simply putting together a trio with Doria and drummer Wicks, but he couldn't resist adding these supersonic horns. Not only exceptional musicians, trombonist and keyboardist Steve Moore and saxophonist and flutist Hans Teuber penned most of the tunes. Cut in just one day, Husky reflects the energy and immediacy of a road-tested band that just popped into the studio between gigs. If jazz is to have any kind of future, it needs to tap into this kind of energy more often.

-- Bob Weinberg

AUGUST 2006
 
Husky
Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet 
Hyena Records 9349

by Randy Ray

Husky is solid, late at night, muggy, window completely open, pre-Bitches Brew '60s avant-garde jazz music that demands a whacked-out imagination and a love for Ritalin. Fortunately, neither the heat nor the weird factor is a bad thang in this zip code. With appropriately subtle titles like “Go to Hell, Mr. Bush,” “Fry His Ass” and “Daddy Won’t Taint Bye-Bye,” the ten instrumentals also share a common mix of clever musical wit and construction. Galactic guru and N’Awlins drum kingpin Stanton Moore’s mentorship is all over this music but, again, that ain’t necessarily a negative comment. In fact, the Tennessee Williams 1940s milieu fits these 21st century mindfucks just fine.

“The Third Rail” enters a Middle Eastern drone via the Sunset Strip before chucking the trance for a ballsy sideways shimmy through an innertube of funk mixed with hangdog soul. This opening salvo serves as a heady overture to an original blend of post-acid jazz. The aforementioned “Fry His Ass” fries thy noodle in 10:10 with cat-clearing-the-room theatrics that are both ingenious and somehow late period Coletranesque spacey melodic. I almost expect Elizabeth Taylor to turn the corner of the room and crawl the dark walls with her tits falling to-and-beautiful-fro out of her skin-tight white dress. Then again… the sax sort of amps the ethereal Viagra needle past eleven as the tempo rises-and-falls at the drop of a black Beatnik hat with every passing minute.

This vibe feels like the lost soundtrack music from a David Lynch version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring Crispin Glover and Amanda Plummer -- and I do mean that in a very cool Ornette Coleman way-out-in-deep fucking space manner. Alto and baritone saxes, flutes, trombones, trumpets, tenor sax and the beloved Hammond spin a tail—in particular, the horns are wailing completely out of control and the piano is reining in the madness like a sexed-up Nurse Ratchett from a latter period Cuckoo’s Nest. There even appears to be some sort of weird random tap dancing or someone fucking with my headphones with a really bizarre hand clap that works very well, indeed.

The rest of the album isn’t nearly as trippy or freaky but with this level of improvisatory invention, why quibble about specific epic peaks? Find your own in this quixotic adventure. Have another espresso and continue listening. “Song for Bad” slows everything down as the horns slide into a smooth space filled with the spaghetti language of the Hammond abetting the percussion. This is a standout track for keyboardist Joe Doria but it is also the most sublime performance for the septet as they forego the transitory strange for a slow foggy waltz. “Summer Pudding,” like many of the tracks, lives up to its humorous designation by spinning Steely Dan on its head and unfurling a headbanging groove that wrestles with as many as four simultaneous melodies at once like the Grateful Dead, circa-1972 turning on a dime in multiple directions. “Daddy Won’t Taint Bye Bye” is Buckethead pumped through a Hammond organ and a few dozen other sound effects. Think Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey on Mars while a comet orbits Venus and you get the psychedelic picture—a cloudy beaut amongst many late eve humid wall climbers. In other words…heat is IN and Bush is OUT so throw on the soundtrack to our surreally fucked-up times.

Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet - Husky   

O's Notes: This septet has a funky fusion sound underscored with club beats. "Fry His Ass" is tight and feels good with some great brass work including Skerik on tenor sax. While there were no vocals, we felt the anger coming through loud and clear. The dynamics were strong and the variety of songs wide. We liked the complexity of funky tracks like "Taming The Shrew". It is much more than a few cool riffs. There is also nice work by flutist Hans Teuber on "Go To Hell Mr. Bush."

JULY 21, 2006

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet

What attracted me to Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet, once Rifftides reader Ted Allen called our attention to it in the recent roundup of listeners' choices, was Hans Teuber. Teuber is the talented Seattle reed and woodwind player whose jazz work, particularly on alto saxophone, captivated me years ago. There is plenty of Teuber to appreciate here, and although it took me a couple of hearings to get past, or accommodate myself to, the funk and hip-hop aspects of the music, the CD has boogied its way onto my current play list. Skerik, who goes by only that name, is the tenor saxophonist and leader. The instrumentation also includes trumpet, trombone, drums and organ.

Boy, does it ever include organ. When Joe Doria's Hammond B-3 and Craig Flory's baritone sax are in full voice, with the other horns laying down Mingus-like unison commentary, you may as well invite your neighbors to the party because they're not going to get any sleep. For all the rambunctiousness, Skerik manages to avoid what makes so many funk bands boring--a continuous undifferentiated dynamic level. Much of the writing here is subtle and, occasionally, flat-out funny. As on the raucous concerto grosso called "Fry His Ass," Skerik's gutbucket tenor solos approach but never quite go over the edge. Flory does a convincing Gerry Mulligan on "Song for Bad." This is good-time music with more depth than at first meets the ear.

The name of the band rang a bell. A little research suggests that it was inspired by a phrase that came from Harry J. Anslinger, the mission-driven first chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a job he held from 1930 to 1962. "Syncopated Taint" is how he characterized what he said jazz and marijuana were doing to the nation in the 1930s.

AUGUST 2006

 

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Husky (Hyena HYN-9349)

In past columns and in essays on New Orleans Jazzfests, I have mentioned saxophonist Skerik in the context of the group Garage a Trois, which also features guitarist Charlie Hunter, percussionist Mike Dillon and drummer Stanton Moore (from Galactic). This recording is the first opportunity I have had to hear Skerik leading his own band and performing his own compositions. The overall effect is similar to such progressive groups as Sun Ra's Arkestra or Charles Mingus' bands, or the Art Ensemble of Chicago, with a touch of Frank Zappa for good measure. Just as these groups combine technical precision with a sometimes raucous sense of humor, so too does the Syncopated Taint Septet. For fans of Louisville's Liberation Prophecy, this CD will be a natural. The politically motivated will search for meaning in "Go to Hell Mr. Bush," which begins with a sweet and lovely flute solo over a gentle electric keyboard; go figure. Some of the other song titles should help prepare one for the auditory journeys on this excellent album: "Fry His Ass," "Irritaint," and "Summer Pudding." The emphasis is on arrangements and the ensemble, rather than virtuoso soloing.

AUGUST 2, 2006

 

SKERIK'S SYNCOPATED TAINT SEPTET
Husky
(Hyena)

Tenor sax player Skerik and his gang are back with a disc that delicately balances on the edge of organized compositional jazz and free experimental mayhem. All the instruments on the record are live, and Joe Doria's organ and the dominating horn section create a sound closer to hip-hop and funk than jazz. Thriving on John Wicks's tight drumming and each track's great melody, the septet builds jams as adeptly as the best rock bands and maintains an instrumental command that would make the most seasoned players proud. (Joseph DeFranceschi)

VINTAGEVINYL'S AUGUST JAZZ PICK
Husky - Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet

This is what jazz is supposed to sound like in the  21st century. Blues and \Gospel were the root musics of 20th century jazz.  Funk and hip-hop are the root musics for 21st century jazz. Skerik's  Syncopated Taint Septet throws a young, passionate, witty and very  bumping' five piece horn section into fine and deep phat grooves. Said  groove is created by a rhythm section anchored by a thick, swinging  hammond B3. It's like combining the rhythm sectin of a great 1960's organ  combo with Galactic's horn section..the best of the old funk meets the  best of the new funk. 

Skerik is a saxophone player who first became prominent playing with 
Galactic's horn section and then with the band's drummer Stanton Moore on  some of his solo projects, then collaborating with Primus bassist Les  Claypool and finally with Medeski, Martin and Wood before the new septet  came together. This music on this CD is more advanced, more interesting,  and much more jazzy than
any of those. Jazz for your brain and your butt  is hard to come by. Don't miss this  one.

Go to Press Page 2