Saxophonist With the possible exception of Roscoe Mitchell -- who after all, is a towering figure in the history of the avant-garde -- free players rarely get their due up here in the party-hearty Bucky zone. This is a terrible shame when it comes to Pow!ers and her current trio. On "Explosive Improvised Device" from their new album Food for Thought, the threesome displays both taste and control as Pow!ers arcs from speculative, almost playful bursts on tenor to frenetic, full-on blowing that at times warms the blood to the boiling point. Drummer Paul Baker deserves special credit for exploring every timbre and texture of his kit. Whenever he taps a rim, caresses a cymbal or works up an anxious explosion of battery work on his kit, his percussive statements are in perfect synch with Pow!ers' energy. Bassist Jennifer Pendur is equally sympathetic, and the deep, groaning approximations of whale song she delivers in the middle the tune underscore how remarkably organic Pow!ers' trio can be. In recent months, Chicagoans have had more opportunities to catch the threesome in action than we have, but that will soon be rectified. An MP3 of the track are available in the related downloads at right. The JoAnne Pow!ers Trio plays a release party at Mother Fool's Coffeehouse on Friday, February 15. MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.
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