I am not a jazz fan. I find the long, meandering trills of musicians riffing together to be tedious and grating. However, I am a fan of The Mars Volta, Animals as Leaders, and Suicidal Tendencies, so I had to check out T.R.A.M.’s recent EP, Lingua Franca.
T.R.A.M. consists of Adrian Terrazas (The Mars Volta) on saxophone, flute, bass clarinet and percussion, Javier Reyes and Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) on 8-string guitars, and Eric Moore (Suicidal Tendencies) on drums.
The style is definitely jazzy, but I was surprised to find that there was a lot here for me to enjoy. The djent-y guitar work blends well with the high, wild style of the horns. I listened to the album three times yesterday, and each time I enjoyed it more than the previous play.
I’m always looking for good instrumental albums to listen to at work when I need to concentrate on what I’m writing, because I know that lyrics can distract me, depending on what I’m working on. This album is going to spin quite a bit while I’m doing the maniacal writing just before releases!