The Severed Cortex

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Milk-Dillons-Go-Go-Jungle/dp/B000LXSSTQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1514635-5264950?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176166200&sr=8-1

Every once in awhile you run into something that's just wholly unclassifiable. I only own a handful of those types of CD's, but that's exactly what Mike Dillon's GoGo Jungle is. Actually, this CD is so out there that unclassifiable is still sort of putting it into a category.

So, what exactly is it? It's most closest to jazz vibraphone, but don't think of it in the terms of Lionel Hampton or Bobbie Hutcherson. Both those guys are great jazz vibraphone players, and Mike Dillon is a great player too, but he only flirts on the edges of jazz. Not straight ahead jazz either; more of an experimental sort of jazz. Maybe that's the category that I'd put this release in, experimental jazz. Of course there's also the hip hop part that doesn't really fit in with the jazz motif. And there's the occasional song with scorching guitar so that doesn't really fit in the jazz motif either. Let's not forget about Mike's low monotone spieling that passes for singing. That's certainly not jazz either. Oh, and there's touches of electronica and mostly the whole thing is filled with madness.

Mike Dillon has played with a lot of people including my personal guitar hero Charlie Hunter in his Garage a Trois outfit. He also has recorded with MC 900 Foot Jesus and Les Claypool. All these influences are what make up this release even if it sometimes appears as if they threw everything into a blender. Mike makes his home in New Orleans, Austin, and Kansas City. This release is made up of the Kansas City crowd and while I know K.C. likes to hold on to the old jazz scene, Mike Dillon has to blow the doors off every Arthur Gates when he's in town with this group. By the way he's in K.C. tomorrow and Columbia, MO at Mojo's on Wednesday.

I realize that my musical tastes seldom reach a lot of people. This one will be farther out there than most anything else I listen to, but if you want to listen to someone take a vibraphone farther than it's ever been taken, you'll want to pick up a couple of songs off this one. Start with the most approachable song Bad Man, an homage to the guy you voted for President. It may take you awhile to work into Your Mother Was My Teacher or Lunatic Express.

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