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A 12/8 ripper that gets the feet tapping. From the horn shout chorus that opens the tune
and the relentless drive established by the bass and piano, the perfect bed is laid down for the
"in-your-face" guitar melody and solos. The bridges of this track feature unison lines by the
rhythm section while the horns play a "question and answer" riff against each other. "In the
Groove" presents a high energy "Tower of Power" drive that creates the ideal prelude to the rest
of the album.
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After the piano/guitar intro, "Bill The Cat" grounds on a rather unpredictable bass line that
soon establishes itself as oddly memorable against the sleek guitar melody. This groove is soon
broken by a driving guitar solo from Matthew that leads to second melody section slightly echoing
the original theme. Matthew`s "on the fly" attention to line is very apparent. During rehersals of
this piece, everybody who heard it said it sounded like a cat stalking around. Thus the birth of
Bill.
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Ironically, the piano intro to this piece was an afterthought. The piece originally started at
the metronimic piano figure. "Intro" is the first of three pieces that were to go together on the
album at its first conception. The other two were a baroque fugue for guitar, keyboard, upright
bass and EWI. We decided to shelve it for a future recording. The third piece is the "Finale" at
the end of this album. "Intro" follows Razz`s style of taking the listener on a musical journey in a
short amount of time. The solo section in the middle of the tune gives Tom a chance to display
his finely honed blues rock style Like all the pieces on "Clazz", this stands up to multiple listenings;
there`s always something new to hear. The ending groove was inspired by the funk fusion of the
late 70`s and early 80`s.
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The first of only two ballads on the project, this piece was written with the radio friendly idea
in mind. The progressions and rocking motion of the Rhodes and the smooth bass part create
an almost lullaby style rhythm for the EWI melody to lay over. The secret ingredients on this
track are the layering and unconventional chord progression. Once again there is always
something new to catch at each playing. The free-form bass solo over the ending was Mahlon
Hawk messing around in the studio. We try to catch everything on tape even if it doesn`t make it
to the final mix and this "solo" added another layer we liked.
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I`ll say it again, "radio friendly". Todd, our drummer really hates sequencers. Just to spite
him, I threw this in and he dug it. It`s all keys, bass and drums and no sequencers. It actually
was a blast to groove together on this relentless "bounce". True to form, the melody and
progressions don`t go where one might want them to. Like almost all the tracks on "Clazz", the
classical influence is definitely there.
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Here we are going for the vintage synth meets big band. We`ve sort of coined it
"swing-fusion". "Medium Rare" was written with the vast contrast of simple yet progressive melody
vs. the groove of a horn band in mind. The "A" and "B" sections jump back and forth from the
rock fusion with the simple melody to the very swingy chromatic movement of spread voicings in
the horns. The solo section goes for the hard edge blues rock feel with Tom Bevan burning up a
very tasty solo. Capping off the solo section, the horns have another say and send the tune
back to "A". This track works VERY well when listened to at high volume levels.
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This track was the first one written for Clazz. The influence for this tune grew out of a Latin
groove we had been experimenting with. The piano line that establishes this tune winds through
three time signatures. Again, true to Razz`s style, the phrasing that results from these time
changes creates one continuous line. This allow for a "phrasing within the phrase" approach
when soloing. The melody is another feel altogether. Throw all this together and you have a mix
that`s as tasty as a fine oil and vinegar dressing. The break-down that makes up the ending lets
you wind down before the next cut hits you.
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"Interlude" is for drums and keys only. there is no real explanation for this piece except that it
developed out of a piano exercise I made up for my own practicing. This is the Bach-like Alberti
figure that makes up the chorus section. During tracking of the album, Gary Van Pelt, our
engineer thought it might be cool to have a trumpet of Flugelhorn blow over the ending vamp.
We had Matt Fronke try it with both instruments and tossed a coin to choose which take we`d
keep. The Flugel won.
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This tune was written in the early eighties for a different record project that never came to
pass. After blowing the dust off the charts we tried it during rehearsals and liked the way it was
working. "Dusk" builds from the first bar with just the Rhodes to a full blown gladiator ballad rock
"wall-o-sound". Matthew`s solos once again show his aggressive "don`t try this at home" approach
to line. it`s gladiator rock all over again. After reaching two climaxes, Dusk simmers back down to
the mellow feel that started the tune. What a ride!
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A true to form live recording (in the studio, that is). We nailed this tune on the second take.
Matthew uses his Chet Atkins nylon string guitar which literally jumped onto tape. Yes, there is a
bit of Black Bird in there...it just happened. In addition to the acoustic guitar, the bass really
makes this tune; some serious playing on Eric Stiller`s part. Due to the classical elements that
keep reappearing throughout the tune, it made sense to find a name that describes the style,
classical/jazz..."Clazz".
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Another journey! This tune is a potpourri for the ears. Contrary to popular belief,
"Norwegian Wood" was not an influence for this track. The 6/8 compound meter on "Finale" sets a
drive that carries you through many different melodic and rhythmic settings. The tune builds with
a subtle fury that seems undetectable until you find yourself grooving to the inplied half-time feel
while your foot pounds out the time. "Finale" makes for a great show closer so we put it last to
wrap up the project.
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CD Information
