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Reviews

Ezoo — Ezoo
(Mylodon MYLOCD053, 2007, CD)

by Paul Hightower, Published 2008-01-01

Ezoo Cover art

Last time I checked there are not many Mexican bands with an American Stick player and singer who’s also a woman, but that’s what we have here with Ezoo. Besides Linda Cushma, Ezoo includes three guys who either are or used to be in Cast: Carlos Humarán on guitar, Kiko King on drums, and Flavio Miranda on bass. Besides Irene Orleansky the number of notable female Stick players is small, and Cushma’s playing lends added color and timbral variety to the band’s sound. But what really sets these guys apart from many of their peers are her vocal talents that bring a huge added dimension to their material. I’m reminded a bit of the vocal songs on Bill Bruford’s or Béla Fleck's albums; the songs are sufficiently quirky and almost playful and Cushma’s vocal is wholly satisfying without trying to impress. Playfulness is a quality I could ascribe to this entire album, though it might be easier to categorize Ezoo’s sound as contemporary instrumental fusion. Several of the songs get an injection of funky attitude, as on “Blue Belly Gecko” and “G-Jam,” and the group excels with this type of playing. The interplay between the musicians is consistently engaging and their skill uniformly impressive. I get a bit tired of Humarán’s distorted guitar tone at times, and it’s nice when he slips into jazzier or even acoustic mode, as on “Spring Rain.” But this is a minor quibble and on the whole this album works from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2007 releases

Related artist(s): Ezoo

 

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