Electronica buffs are about to have an aneurysm – in a good way. That’s because Rendezvous, the electropop band with a jazz twist, is about to launch its very first album.

Just half a decade ago, Itai Simon and Hagai Izenberg made their own legacy. Starting from scratch, they wrote their own music and searched for that elusive music style they can call their own. I find the result of this soul-searching as a wonderful marriage in music: that of sixties-inspired psychedelic retro jazz and today’s clean electropop sound. Eventually, Simon and Izenberg came to be known as Rendezvous, a name I find appropriate for a band whose music serves to acquaint two opposing genres with each other.

Rendezvous’ hard work paid off. Soon, their first EP came out, posted on the internet for everybody to listen to. It wasn’t hard to convince people to spare a moment for a few seconds of Rendezvous’ songs; in fact, their online songs have been downloaded thousands of times, earning Rendezvous a fan base of more than 7000 members on Facebook – and all this was the result of a single EP.

Finally, fans like myself will be appeased! Rendezvous is now working to finish their debut album, in collaboration with Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode producer/mixer David Bascombe. Rendezvous has compiled an impressive album, featuring songs that each have something special to offer. Expect their album to showcase a string orchestra, darbuka, other Asian instruments, and, more importantly, expect the unexpected.

To make things even sweeter, I discovered that Uzi Adam, an accomplished filmmaker from Israel, has joined the team to capture Rendezvous’ moments of glory on film. Highlights of Rendezvous’ album making and production are now available on the Internet.

For a taste of Rendezvous’ music, feel free to listen to “So What”, “No Man’s Land”, and “Incognito”. All songs offer a distinct feel unique to Rendezvous. But why take my word for it? Listen to Rendezvous and hear it to believe it:

Rendezvous on their official website

Rendezvous: Incognito (feat. Summertime) [mp3]

What is it about jazz that vexes people? Why is this quite creative and exploitative medium of music such a focal point for hatred by the faint of heart? Hate it or love it, that is the question. And while some may discard the genre altogether (and, subjectively, they would be in their right mind to do so), others embrace it so thoroughly it becomes more than a love: an obsession. Enter 12Twelve‘s “Mr. Gesus” and I’ve got myself a jazz crush on these sax-heavy Blue Note sounds!

But honestly, a music video for jazz? I must be kidding you? Right? Wrong. The video arrives, displaying imagery like a black-and-white David Lynch film (well, it’s no match for Lost Highway, but damn!) with less of a reality check (is that possible?) and more religious philosophy than Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

What “Mr. Gesus” does is take me back to my undergrad (and graduate school) days of ordering pitchers of lager microbrews at the cultured Pullman pub Rico’s, heading down a short flight of stairs to the lower level, and finding a dark corner perfect for taking in live jazz. That’s the music. The “Mr. Gesus” imagery, on the other hand, is one trippy ride.

This review was originally published May 3, 2007 on the old version of FensePost.

Yesterday was the drop date for All Tiny Creatures‘ Segni, a 12″ EP featuring four tracks of immense instrumental awesomeness. The EP opens with an epic, the 17 minute title track “Segni”, and is followed by three songs that do not equate to that time allotment by more than a minute-thirty.

Segni comes to us via Hometapes, and it’s initially a bit of a surprise; I would consider All Tiny Creatures to fit somewhere in the realm of modern (yet hip) jazz. Somewhere along the lines of Bluebridge Quartet or Medeski Martin & Wood. Hell, you could even toss in some references to masters like Cluster.

While the immense “Segni” is a wonderful track, it’s not above giving credit to it’s companions. “To All Tiny Creatures” finds the band injecting just as many noted instruments, from distorted electric guitars to the erratic keys that literally lend “Segni” the genius crown. Each song is a psychedelic jazz jam, a portal into the unique. “Minor” finds the group delving into out-of-the-norm time signatures and playing around with production, throwing sound through swirling loops. That’s pretty much what you can expect from any of the four off Segni — a clash of psychedelic rock sounds with experimental jazz. There’s a word for it, for an artist like All Tiny Creatures, and that word is this: innovative.

All Tiny Creatures: To All Tiny Creatures [mp3]

Home Tapes [12" EP, 2009]

1. Segni
2. To All Tiny Creatures
3. Minor
4. Street Lights Ten Thousand Feet

As a band name, Medeski Martin & Wood is a bit strange. The moniker works, but is also fit for a corporate legal group. One gets the impression a missing LLP should follow the name. “Amber Gris” is the trio’s latest video and it comes from their latest album Radiolarians II. They’ve also got new one on the burner; Radiolarians III will be available for purchase August 4.

My first listens to tracks like “Amber Gris” and, off their upcoming LP, “Undone”, I had visions of modern jazz. Not the contemporary stuff, either — the hip underground movement of jazz that features loops, forays into rock with mightier percussion, and dabbles in the experimental. It’s much along the lines of Bluebridge Quartet.

The video, likewise, is something you’d expect from such a band — dark with masterful cinematography. The song itself uses a nontraditional time signature and spans between being minimal at times while at others full of life and instrumentation. The result is beautiful songcraft.

Again, Radiolarians III will be released August 4. But if you wait a bit, you can get a packaged deal: the trio of Radiolarians releases as a box set of CDs or LPs late this year.

Medeski Martin & Wood: Amber Gris [mp3]

Medeski Martin & Wood: Undone [mp3]

Sometimes all you need is to slap on that scratched up old copy of Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis, pour yourself a stiff glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and crank up the volume knob. For you jazz enthusiasts out there, you know exactly what I’m talking about. There’s something inherently cool about drinking red wine amidst your record collection while a classic jazz album cracks and pops over your speakers. It’s primo stress relieving material.

Bluebridge Quartet may not be Miles Davis (and, for that matter, they may not be a true quartet), but boy can I get into their eclectic rhythms – this is the stuff I look for when seeking out new jazz artists and, while I prefer to imbibe them on vinyl, I’ll drink it up any which way it comes. And yes, that includes a digital release, like Adjusted For Low Noise Tape.

Listen to the sax in opener “Spektrum” and the wild erratic percussion in “Tandberg”! Listen to the melodic piano intro that builds into the amazing “Karp” and the dissonance in the sax notes opening “Landet”! This is the jazz that gets me excited; this is jazz I’d drop right next to Kind Of Blue in the “inherently cool” section of my collection. Now, if only I could find it on vinyl…

Bluebridge Quartet: Spektrum [mp3]

Bluebridge Quartet: Karp [mp3]

Aerotone [Digital EP, 2007]

1. Spektrum
2. Tandberg
3. Karp
4. Landet