Blazing/Freezing

This is hyphenated jazz. Let's circle back to that in a moment. This is an album that wears its purpose on its sleeve, for the musicians make no secret of their intent. They wanted to express their frustration at the unstoppable march of climate change as well as their anger at the contemporary political climate during the COVID pandemic, so what better way, I guess, than deconstructing the roots music of American heritage? Not in order to be outré but rather to play with existing forms of the culture at large, to collaborate and to evoke that excitement musicians feel at exploring new possibilities. Mandolin, violin, upright bass... and electronics come together here, just as the Jewish, Japanese, and Mexican aspects of the musicians' identities should not be ignored.