Featured Artist: Edge City Collective

CD Title: Aktivavoco

Year: 2007

Record Label: Self-Produced

Style: Free Jazz / Avante Garde

Musicians:

Scott MacDonald (drums), Bart Miltenberger (trumpet), Scott Schaffer (guitars), Mike Taylor (bass), Jon Thompson (saxophones/flute), Woz (synthesizers), Vickie Dodd (vocals), Devan Miller (vocals), Judith-Kate Friedman (vocals), Jim Couture (vocals)

Review:

Edge City Collective is a coalition of like-minded creative musicians who seem determined to defy musical categorization. On Aktivavoco, The final installment in the Edge City Trilogy, trumpeter Bart Miltenberger, guitarist/coordinator Scott Schaffer, saxophonist Jon Thompson, synthesist Woz (Paul Woznicki), bassist Michael Taylor and drummer Scott MacDonald present a wide-ranging spectrum of experimental sound structures with loose elements of jazz, rock, electronica, spoken word and just about anything else you could imagine. Guest vocalists include Vickie Dodd, Devan Millar, Judith-Kate Friedman and Jim Couture.

The diverse nature of the disc’s seventeen tracks traverses unpredictable musical spheres. While some of the pieces are intended as deliberate reflections on the absurdities of society, others evoke satire, diversity and optimism.

The musicians involved are all strongly adept, yet the focus is not on musical virtuosity, but rather on the imaginative and spontaneous reactions to sound. The vocalizations are all unique and integrate with the core instrumentation to create fresh textures. Dodd, who has performed with Anthony Braxton, and Millar, with mesmerizing Tuvian throat-singing, bring an abundance of creativity to the proceedings.

The sounds of Edge City Collective are fresh, bold and challenging. Aktivavoco is the perfect remedy to cure one’s displeasure for the mundane and trivial.

Artist's Website: http://www.edgecitymusic.com

Reviewed by: John Barron

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