The Flying Luttenbachers
Since 1991 this notorious instrumental unit has been wasting puny earthlings with an amorphous fusion of all things extreme and dissonant in music: hardcore-punk rawness, death-metal speed/technicality, free-jazz asymmetry, no-wave skronk, progressive-rock conceptual bombast, electronic-noise and modern-classical abstraction. Fifteen years and counting, the Luttenbachers, described as "brutal prog" by majordomo, Weasel Walter, has shifted focus and personnel numerous times. Past members have included Hal Russell, Jeb Bishop and Ken Vandermark (though somehow missing from Vandermark's extensive resume). Current line-up consists of: Weasel Walter (percussion), Mike Green (bass), Ed Rodriguez and Rob Pumpelly (guitars).
Zs
"Zs are six New Yorkers divided symmetrically: two saxophones, two guitars, and two drumsets. A previous 5 song album on Troubleman was an exciting slab of controlled mayhem, and the three-track Karate Bump (Planaria) further focuses that sound - equal parts Krautrock workout and free jazz blurt - into disciplined loops. "Bump" alternates between clicking drums and a cascading guitar line until the airy whispers of hornblowers Alex Mincek and Sam Hillmer sift the track's skin raising staccato through a shuffling sonic screen. "Karate"'s respiratory calesthenics evokes the breathy chirping of Anthony Braxton and the raucous invention of Hal Russell. Things slowly die during the last track, an untitled loop in which the guitars and saxes limp hypnotically to the finish line. Such earned weariness makes the intoxicating Karate Bump feel longer than its nineteen minute duration might indicate." - Marc Masters, The Wire
Cost: $6-10