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- Caveman
Before the World
Independent release
- By Scott Snidow
 You know the old
adage about judging the book?! Yeah. How many times have we all
heard this and how often do we actually put its wisdom to use?
We all make snap judgements about people, things or situations
on a regular basis. For some, this would be daily. As much as
I hate to admit it, I, too, fall victim to this particular human
frailty from time to time.
Such was the case when this CD arrived one day, knocking at
the mailbox and sending the more "respectable" mail
to the sanctuary of the porch floor. Ripping open the yellow,
foam-padded envelope, I perused the material inside. One CD with
garish colored, pseudo-primitive artwork on the cover. In bold,
block letters was the word CAVEMAN, and underneath the
title of the work "Before the World." I flipped the
jewel case over and read some of the titles. "The Call,"
"Grand Canyon," "Message From the Indians,"
"Whales," "Flowers," "Birth 1,"
"Frogjazz," "National Anthem for a Happy Nation."
Oh great! Some publicist in some place like New York City is
trying to get me to review some neo-hippie, resurrectionist,
tree-hugging peace love dove stuff! Look, I lived this stuff
back in the 70's, and I really don't need a bunch of "kids"
preaching it to me musically today. I decided to glance over
the enclosed press kit before sending the whole package to file
thirteen. Hmmmimagine this. Praise from a writer who writes for
an ezine that instantly concocts visions of rampant drug use.
More from writers with publications that have similarly "groovy"
titles. Ohand a glowing tribute from a "festival promoter."
You know, those guys who have never left the 60's to join the
rest of us in the next friggin' century. Come on. This stuff
would be right up their alley. So, away to a dusty of corner
of the office it was sent, there to remain for a few months while
I went about the business of being busy.
What was it your first grade teacher tried time and again
to tell you about book judging?
I don't know exactly what it was that made me pick up this
CD a few weeks back. Perhaps plain simple old curiosity, perhaps
a flight from job related stress. Perhaps it was the fact that
my reading led me to the realization that the members of this
quartet were thoroughly trained in jazz at The New School University
in New York. Who knows? But I did. Pensively I slipped it into
the CD player and pressed the play button. What unfolded before
me were some really good, solid performances of some really modern,
interpretive jazz. It was like watching, or should I say, hearing,
a great work of impressionist art unfolding on a musical canvas.
Please, though, don't be misled by my slightly over-enthusiastic
analogy. This is not that hoity-toity overbearing style of jazz
whose aficionados tell you that listeners have to "develop
an ear" to appreciate. Not at all. (Remember that thing
about not judging the book, folks.) This is a pure, simple, honest
style of the genre that actually rivets the listener's attention
without training. It incorporates a myriad of music styles and
sounds. There are hints of "World" music. You know,
the term employed by pundits for music that contains elements
of African, European, and Middle Eastern rhythms. Shades of Indian
and Far Eastern sounds are heard as well. But there are also
heavy doses of blues, rock, western jazz, and even tinges of
new age music. This is all snowballed together into one concise
package.
The music itself evokes images in the mind's eye of the listener.
After all, isn't that what interpretive jazz should do? And somehow,
I couldn't help but feel that there was a message here. The titles
are the cues, and the music clearly spells out the rest of the
story. This is a music that comes from a philosophy and a spirit
that embraces the basest elements of human existence. It tells
the story of a mankind perishing in a suburban quagmire. Of nature
being over-run by man. But through it all there is a note of
hope, a hope that, through a collective awareness, mankind can
return the celestial ship that is earth back to an even keel.
And while the basic message of Before the World may appeal
to some of those neo-hippies, the telling is so much fresher
than any I have heard. There is a darkness to this music, and
at the same time a sense of humor. There is a wit and a wisdom,
but above all this is honest, rock solid music performed by some
very gifted musicians.
So let the lesson be learned. You can't judge a book, or for
that matter, a CD, by its cover.
www.cavemanlove.com
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