Chicago has had an experimental streak in its jazz for some time, with classic free jazz masters (like the Art Ensemble of Chicago) built from the electric blues that hailed from the city. A.J. Kluth's second outing for OA2 shows a new combination of Chicago influences. With a focus on space, pacing, and timbre more than melody, Anvils and Broken Bells manages to become a sonically interesting set. The horns may honk their way through a piece's opening in tandem, but eventually a melodica, with its almost backmasked sound, comes into the scene. A thrashing drum fill changes the pace, and an electric guitar takes over for the rest of a piece. Then, the whole system is reset, wound up, and put back into motion for a new round. The bandmembers work together solidly on the set, all following the composition leads, and all contributing to the controlled chaos that each piece demands. Kluth himself makes headway on the sax, often in tandem with James Davis' trumpet, but the real star of the proceedings is guitarist Toby Summerfield, who evokes bits of John McLaughlin in his electric flights, powering the pieces into and through massive crescendos of sound and leading them into quiet dissipations. It's experimental, it's brash, and it's excellent modern jazz. 
- Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide

Personell:
AJ KLUTH - tenor saxophone / melodica / effects 
JAMES DAVIS - trumpet / effects 
TOBY SUMMERFIELD - electric guitar / many buttons & knobs 
DAN THATCHER - electric bass 
QUIN KIRCHNER - drums & cymbals 

I Am Wearing A Velvet Jacket - Kluth

OA2 Records 22055, 2009

Chicago-native AJ Kluth was educated at that city's DePaul University before freelancing around the Midwest and transcribing and self-publishing a book of Chris Potter solos. On Twice Now he leads a guitar anchored quintet through nine lengthy and provocative pieces, seven of which were composed by Kluth or guitarist Nick Ascher. 

The simpatico between Kluth and Ascher extends from the pair's compositions to their respective performances. Although under Kluth's name, Twice Now is effectively a collaborative effort by the saxophonist and guitarist. 

The relationship between the two, as well as with pianist Sean McCluskey, is defined on the Ascher composition "Red" that opens the disc. Over McCluskey's spare piano chording, Kluth and Ascher double on a devilishly complex melody line. While Kluth is more Michael Brecker than Wayne Shorter (or Sonny Rollins), Ascher is more John Abercrombie than John Scofield. These comparisons are loose at best as both artists have very characteristic sounds. Kluth sports a full-throated muscular tenor and sinewy soprano, while Ascher is distorted at the edges, giving his guitar a slight rock tone. 

Kluth and Ascher achieve a delicate dance of counterpoint throughout the disc, easily heard on "A Time, Times, And Half Time" and "Wi Fi," the latter containing a lyrical solo by McCluskey on acoustic piano. "Quiet, Then Go" is a breezy Kluth ballad accentuating the stronger points of Kluth and Ascher's slower soloing. Chick Corea's "Litha" fits perfectly with the originals as a smart and edgy piece not fully smooth at the edges, providing just enough bite for pleasure. 

Ascher's airy ballad "Sleeping" dovetails well into one of the more inspired covers in recent memory, Thom York's "Atoms For Peace." 
C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

Personell:
AJ Kluth - tenor / soprano saxophones 
Nick Ascher - electric guitar 
Seán McCluskey - piano and fender rhodes 
Cory Biggerstaff - double bass 
Stefan Czestochowski - drums and cymbals 

Atoms For Peace | Yorke

Sleeping | Ascher

Coliseum | Ascher

Litha | Corea

Quiet...Then Go | Kluth

WiFi | Kluth

A Time, Times, And Half A Time | Kluth

Revolutions | Ascher

Red | Ascher

Saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, theorist, systematic musicology PhD student at UCLA.

AJ Kluth

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