West, Rich – “Heavenly Breakfast ” – [Pfmentum]

Max Level   1/6/2007   CD, Jazz

Intelligent, off-kilter Jazz, with electric Rock tendencies. West is a local drummer/composer who has worked with, among others, members of Camper Van Beethoven/Monks of Doom, Mike Watt, and Graham Connah. This is a solid effort, fresh and playful, not particularly reverent to jazz conventions. West’s nimble drumming locks in with a fat electric bass and some often-unjazzlike electric keyboards to provide a springy foundation under the trumpet and reed spatters. The great Lynn Johnston’s sax and clarinet work is one of the highlights for me. Most tracks are in that set-friendly 7-to-11 minutes-long area, except for the final track, an 18 minute epic named for Glenn Branca.