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Bushman's Revenge — All the Better for Seeing You
(Karisma Is It Jazz KAR, 2023, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-12-16

All the Better for Seeing You Cover art

On their latest outing, Bushman’s Revenge gives us another set of instrumental tracks that inhabit a place somewhere between jazz and rock, this time on Karisma’s Is It Jazz? imprint. As with the previous releases I’ve heard, the sound is something most modern listeners would characterize as jazz, though the use of effects on the electric guitar and the occasional heavier riff brings in enough rock that a jazz traditionalist might complain. Even Helte Hermansen’s guitar work also incorporates elements of twangy Americana, and “Last Cup of Zorro” has a hint of surf rock to it. At times like that, his playing reminds me of Bill Frisell, a comparison that also comes to mind in some of his atmospheric chording. On bass, Rune Nergaard does a stellar job of slipping in and out of the set parts, sometimes doubling or nearly doubling the guitar lines and sometimes drifting off into untethered areas. Gard Nilssen sounds like his main influences as a drummer come from the jazz world, though like many good jazz drummers, he can really drive a rock groove when it’s called for. One of my favorite tracks on All the Better for Seeing You is “Hollowed Be Thy Fame,” which starts out like a Softs era Soft Machine track with a twangier version of John Etheridge (and no keyboards or sax), featuring an interesting riff full of unpredictable accents, then drifts off into a number of other sections. (If you enjoy that song title, remember that a couple of their early albums were called You Lost Me at Hello and Never Mind the Botox.) Aside from a few places where additional guitar parts have been added, this is very much a live-in-the-studio effort, with the trio exposed and unenhanced — and they’re totally up to the challenge. Fans of modern jazz guitar should be aware of Bushman’s Revenge already, and if they’re not, this is an excellent entry point.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Bushman's Revenge

More info
http://bushmansrevenge.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-better-for-seeing-you

 

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