Tied & Tickled Trio

These guys have it real bad for Miles and 'Trane. The TTT have been around for about five years now, and for all electronic/acoustic hybrids with any longevity the challenge is to keep writing songs that make the best of both worlds. It's pretty easy for the electronics to slip into either the beatbox or the ambience generator role. Fortunately, Andreas Gerth's electronics straddle the boundaries of percussive and tonal, which can at different times be dub-wise, (almost) funky and just plain propulsive. There is no stopping the forward momentum of each song travelling from point A to F over the course of the disc, along the way paying homage to Miles' early groove period and Coltrane's mid-'60s sounds, especially in tenor saxist Ulrich Wangenheim's playing. This is modal groove music for the new millennium. The groove in question bears a strong resemblance to King Cobb Steelie's workouts, while the horn arrangements are along the lines of the Lounge Lizards. They make some fairly dark noises, but all within a groovy context. It's a nice release and, being a live recording, would definitely make one want to check out a show. This is definitely a band that, although they are more than cohesive, shows its influences right up front, and if any of the names dropped in this review strike a chord with you, try to find yourself a copy.