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| 1998 | ALTERNATIVE ROCK | SWING | JAZZ |
Track Listing
1. Baby What's Up ✔
2. White Wedding / Rebel Yell Melody
3. Out Of Control
4. 15 Months In Jail
5. Buddha's Bounce
6. Blue Martini ✔
7. In The Groove ✔
8. Shoppin' Mall Mama
9. Knockin' At Your Door
10. Enter Sandman
11. Caledonia
11. Caledonia
✔ indicates track pick
Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Review
I've never really listened to much swing before. It was listening to metal that ironically got me onto this band. Some time ago I discovered and fell in love with The Diablo Swing Orchestra; and their deliciously avant-garde combination of metal and swing. So out of curiosity I searched for 'swing metal' and one of the results that surfaced was a catchy little swing cover of 'Enter Sandman', or in the words of the band; 'The New Morty Show swings Metallica baby!" I quite enjoyed their straight swing cover of the Metallica classic, so went out and got hold of their debut effort 'Mortyfied' (yes, with that spelling). For a person who's only real taste of jazz up until then had been through 'The Blues Brothers' and an occasional episode from 'The Simpsons' which featured 'Bleeding Gums Murphy', 'Mortyfied' worked its way into my head and led me to impression that everything sounds good when swung. See the problem with swing is that it's a genre that's never really been embraced by the mainstream, however 'The New Morty Show' bridge that gap as their repertoire features that old style swinging big band numbers infused with a modern sound and just a hint of rock in the mix.
Led by trumpet player Morty Okin and with brilliant duo vocal performances from Connie Champagne and Vise Grip this is a excellent first record, filled with with infectious tunes that will have you bopping the head and tapping the feet all night long. It's a full sound achieved as well, and with a rich horn section, guitar, bass, drums and piano they've got it all. Opener 'Baby What's Up?' shows what this group is all about; giving each other a moment in the spotlight. A bold trumpet riff begins the song, taking turns with a playful little piano melody. We get some nice harmonies from the singers in the chorus, while the verses give each individual vocalist some room to play. It's the solos that make this song brilliant though; first we're presented with a dirty little sax solo, and the tones on the instrument are astoundingly good. And if that wasn't enough, we get a rocking little acoustic solo before it descends back into the chorus. It's because of this perhaps that this band is often tagged as 'neo-swing' because it follows a more standard verse chorus formula that's so common in music today, but this works to their advantage and makes it more easy to listen to.
Much of the rest of the album follows the same path as the opener; a tight horn section, a quick pace and solos a plenty. 'Blue Martini' stands out from the rest; it's the laid back piece that sounds like it's been directly pulled out of a romance movie's obligatory 'restaurant date scene', although the lyrics speak of sitting alone at a bar drinking expensive drinks late into the night. This is where the piano gets to shine; with slow meandering jazz chords and fills. The female vocals take lead here, and Champagne certainly has great range hitting the essential lows and highs. Although she covers a wide dynamic range, her voice never becomes harsh. The highlight of the song however is the two minute long brilliant improvised solo from pianist John Quam, which begins slow but quickly gains momentum, playing off the drums and building up to a fast paced climax with horns thrown in, after which it brings you back to slow and mournful tune of the start. And all in the space of six and a half minutes. At the start of the review I mentioned the band's take on Metallica, but they also cover Billy Idol in the form of 'White Wedding'. The 'Enter Sandman' cover is an innovative and creative take on the original, with some brilliant piano work and a funky wandering bass line. It sounds like it was meant to be swung, and although more could have been done with it, it simply worked. However the Billy Idol cover falls a bit flat; the music doesn't seem to match up to vocals. It resembles what can only be described as 'musical photoshop', in which they take a generic swing song and chuck the vocals over the top.
It's still music that's never going to find a mainstream audience which is shame, but The New Morty Show gives a good window into the past, while looking ahead to the future. And one can only imagine that when these jazz cats hit the stage, everybody on the floor will be dancing all through the night and day.
I've never really listened to much swing before. It was listening to metal that ironically got me onto this band. Some time ago I discovered and fell in love with The Diablo Swing Orchestra; and their deliciously avant-garde combination of metal and swing. So out of curiosity I searched for 'swing metal' and one of the results that surfaced was a catchy little swing cover of 'Enter Sandman', or in the words of the band; 'The New Morty Show swings Metallica baby!" I quite enjoyed their straight swing cover of the Metallica classic, so went out and got hold of their debut effort 'Mortyfied' (yes, with that spelling). For a person who's only real taste of jazz up until then had been through 'The Blues Brothers' and an occasional episode from 'The Simpsons' which featured 'Bleeding Gums Murphy', 'Mortyfied' worked its way into my head and led me to impression that everything sounds good when swung. See the problem with swing is that it's a genre that's never really been embraced by the mainstream, however 'The New Morty Show' bridge that gap as their repertoire features that old style swinging big band numbers infused with a modern sound and just a hint of rock in the mix.
Led by trumpet player Morty Okin and with brilliant duo vocal performances from Connie Champagne and Vise Grip this is a excellent first record, filled with with infectious tunes that will have you bopping the head and tapping the feet all night long. It's a full sound achieved as well, and with a rich horn section, guitar, bass, drums and piano they've got it all. Opener 'Baby What's Up?' shows what this group is all about; giving each other a moment in the spotlight. A bold trumpet riff begins the song, taking turns with a playful little piano melody. We get some nice harmonies from the singers in the chorus, while the verses give each individual vocalist some room to play. It's the solos that make this song brilliant though; first we're presented with a dirty little sax solo, and the tones on the instrument are astoundingly good. And if that wasn't enough, we get a rocking little acoustic solo before it descends back into the chorus. It's because of this perhaps that this band is often tagged as 'neo-swing' because it follows a more standard verse chorus formula that's so common in music today, but this works to their advantage and makes it more easy to listen to.
Much of the rest of the album follows the same path as the opener; a tight horn section, a quick pace and solos a plenty. 'Blue Martini' stands out from the rest; it's the laid back piece that sounds like it's been directly pulled out of a romance movie's obligatory 'restaurant date scene', although the lyrics speak of sitting alone at a bar drinking expensive drinks late into the night. This is where the piano gets to shine; with slow meandering jazz chords and fills. The female vocals take lead here, and Champagne certainly has great range hitting the essential lows and highs. Although she covers a wide dynamic range, her voice never becomes harsh. The highlight of the song however is the two minute long brilliant improvised solo from pianist John Quam, which begins slow but quickly gains momentum, playing off the drums and building up to a fast paced climax with horns thrown in, after which it brings you back to slow and mournful tune of the start. And all in the space of six and a half minutes. At the start of the review I mentioned the band's take on Metallica, but they also cover Billy Idol in the form of 'White Wedding'. The 'Enter Sandman' cover is an innovative and creative take on the original, with some brilliant piano work and a funky wandering bass line. It sounds like it was meant to be swung, and although more could have been done with it, it simply worked. However the Billy Idol cover falls a bit flat; the music doesn't seem to match up to vocals. It resembles what can only be described as 'musical photoshop', in which they take a generic swing song and chuck the vocals over the top.
It's still music that's never going to find a mainstream audience which is shame, but The New Morty Show gives a good window into the past, while looking ahead to the future. And one can only imagine that when these jazz cats hit the stage, everybody on the floor will be dancing all through the night and day.
The Musicians Are...
Morty Orkin - Band Leader / Trumpet
Connie Champage - Vocals
Vise Grip- Vocal
Van Hughes - Trombone
Joe Escobar - Trombone
David Murotake - Saxophone
Tom Griesser - Baritone Sax
John Quam - Piano
Trevor Kinsel - Bass
David Rubin - Drums
Robert Castillo - Guitar
Connie Champage - Vocals
Vise Grip- Vocal
Van Hughes - Trombone
Joe Escobar - Trombone
David Murotake - Saxophone
Tom Griesser - Baritone Sax
John Quam - Piano
Trevor Kinsel - Bass
David Rubin - Drums
Robert Castillo - Guitar
Listen
Track 1. Baby What's Up?
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