Languid Velvet Goddess by Jazza Diction
A review by Charlie Griggs
Stillframe
Album: Languid Velvet Goddess
Artist: Jazza Diction
Band Members:
Jef Peace - Writing, composition, vocals, bass and percussion
Brian Frech - Guitars
Don Burgett - Bass
Ray Coffey - Sax, keys, and flute
Jeff Carden - Drums
Tim Bruton - Drums
Track List: (titles appearing as links have an audio preview, click on the title to listen)
The Lie
The Battle Done
Life According To Don
Fast Food Kingdom
Languid Velvet Goddess
Sleep
Hindsight
Stacatto
Jazza Diction have combined the best aspects of jazz and beat poetry to create accessible, enjoyable music that transcends genre.
For those looking for music that breaks out of the ruts that most of today's fare are firmly stuck in, "Languid Velvet Goddess" is a great choice. The members of Jazza Diction have managed to create something original and new - while drawing from jazz music and beat poetry, both known for their abstract style (and thus a turn-off for some), Jazza Diction mold these influences together with a smart songwriting sense to introduce their own brand of structure that gives the listener a foothold into these genres, without robbing the music of its liveliness or surprises.
The musicians of Jazza Diction have accomplished a major feat – great music that borrows from everything right about jazz while leaving pretension and "noodling" behind. Even listeners unfamiliar with jazz will find this album fun and engaging to listen to. Whether using the breath of the sax to lend an almost vinyl feel to 'The Lie', the jazz flute bleats that punctuate the title track, or the trading off of the spotlight on 'Life According to Don', the music never feels forced. It gives the whole album a "road trip" feel, and showcases the taste and talent of each musician without ever testing the limits of a listener's patience. For rock listeners, there's still plenty of guitar, bass, and drums interspersed throughout these songs to give you familiarity, and the clear mix on this album easily allows the listener to enjoy each instrument individually or the ensemble as a whole.
Where the music accomplishes being accessible to musicians and average listeners alike, the lyrics of this album accomplish a similar feat, and will be the hook that captures the interest of even the most casual listener. Jef Peace's smart use of beat poetry combines free-association words, metaphor, comedy, and social commentary into lyrics that make poignant points while often guised as casual observations. Songs like "The Lie" and "The Battle Done" tackle subject matter that could easily come off as cynical, but through their delivery and the thought put into lyrics they make their point by offering the listener a chance to agree, rather than be preached to. "Languid Velvet Goddess", which was created out of word-play on a refrigerator, uses funny phrases juxtaposed with thoughts on everything from politics to god to make the listener laugh and think simultaneously. In this way, they manage the rare feat of appealing to both those who don't focus much on lyrics, and those who love to explore the depths of the words in their record collections.
In summary, Jazza Diction's best-of compilation "Languid Velvet Goddess" is a potent antidote for the musically bored, as well as a great stepping-stone into both their catalog of music and the genres they draw from.
To purchase Languid Velvet Goddess, click here.
To learn more about Jazza Diction, visit their MySpace page.