Rabble Without A Cause
Wednesday December 18th, 2013 with Bernard Stepien
Tin Men and the Telephone – Very Last Christmas

As a Christmas fanatic, I am collecting Avant-Garde Jazz Christmas CDs. Last year we heard John Zorn's rather schmoozy Christmas CD, this year I got hooked by the Tin Men and the Telephone Very Last Christmas that is truly in the Free Jazz tradition. Here again, the Tin Men are struggling with the interference of casual sounds like GPS announcements that steer the music left and right literally. On another track, they are stretching the music also literary by switching keys in the middle of a tune to simulate a record player that has trouble keeping the tempo with the inevitable wow effect. The Tin Men and the Telephone were featured at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival last summer (2013). Let’s hope they will be back soon. Tin Men web site: http://tinmenandthetelephone.com/