Kneedelus at Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Collaboration is one of the pillars of jazz. Whether it’s musicians in a group or combo playing off of each other, or a meeting between artists or bands from different genres. The Los Angeles label Brainfeeder is devoted to the latter and has recently released the album Kneedelus, a union of the chamber-groove ensemble Kneebody and the atmospheric beat alchemist Daedelus. Although Kneebody and Daedelus separately would fall under different genres, this collaboration feels like a melding that was meant to be. Part of this may be their collaborative history: Ben Wendel, Kneebody’s saxophonist first met Daedelus in high school, when he went by Alfred Darlington and played bass...

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Collaboration is one of the pillars of jazz. Whether it’s musicians in a group or combo playing off of each other, or a meeting between artists or bands from different genres. The Los Angeles label Brainfeeder is devoted to the latter and has recently released the album Kneedelus, a union of the chamber-groove ensemble Kneebody and the atmospheric beat alchemist Daedelus. Although Kneebody and Daedelus separately would fall under different genres, this collaboration feels like a melding that was meant to be. Part of this may be their collaborative history: Ben Wendel, Kneebody’s saxophonist first met Daedelus in high school, when he went by Alfred Darlington and played bass. Kneedelus songs such as Platforming present flashes of hyperkinetic fusion with a centerpiece sax solo, where other tunes such as Loops highlight trumpet and drum features. The beats and grooves lay the template for many of the album’s tracks, which range from calmly brooding to classical-inspired melodies, all with undercurrents of classic jazz horn lines. You can hear the inspiration and improvisation being sparked throughout this melding.

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