John Lurie is a founding member of avant-jazz band the Lounge Lizards. The Lounge Lizards get together once every year or so and play some gigs in Europe and make a lot of money. This is fine and well except that Lurie is relatively bored with the material, so somewhere along the last tour, he sent everyone home except for the drummer Calvin Weston and percussionist Billy Martin (drummer in Martin, Medeski and Wood as well as other Knitting Factory scene projects). This trio played the remainder of the Lizards' gigs and recorded in the studio.
The sound of this odd trio features a bare-bones but urbane percussive groove with Lurie's patented sax sound over top. Somehow he manages to bracket the space in-between lyrical romanticism and broken wailing. While the length of the main cut is such that it won't get much deserved local radio, the interesting combination of sounds on this disc must be heard to be believed. This trio is reported to be touring this summer. Cross your fingers and maybe we'll get a visit. (Bob Boster)