Clifford Jordan
Five 'N' FiveThe Mellow Side of Clifford Jordan 1997 via Mapleshade Records
One of Dark Was The Night Live's many, many, many highlights Sunday night was the onstage pairing of David Byrne and Dave Longstreth, fleshing out one of the compilation album's most logical pairings.
The Low Anthem's unique brand of Americana makes room for gospel, folk, and blues, a blend that began taking shape in the trio's hometown of Providence, RI. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky -- both students at Brown University, as well as late-night DJs at the school's radio station -- formed the group in 2006, drawing upon their background as classical composers to help mold the eclectic music. Jocie Adams joined one year later, and the Low Anthem began widening their arsenal of instruments accordingly, utilizing everything from World War I pump organs to crotales in the process.
The second studio set from this sideman supergroup of sorts follows its debut by six years but maintains a similar approach. The result is nearly an hour of non-stop, predominantly instrumental, rump shaking jazz-funk fusion that, while obviously indebted to its predecessors, shimmers with a natural energetic groove of its own. These guys play off each other with enthusiasm and are clearly having a ball.