12 Degrees of Freedom

1. Pursued

2. Not Quite Dark Yet and the Stars Shining Above the Withered Fields

3. January 15th

4. Big Band Theory

5. Waiting for You Is Like Watching Stillness Grow into Enormous Wings

6. Twelve Degrees of Freedom

7. Lemon Grass

8. Gratitude

9. Into the Unanimous Blue

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Chicago Underground Duo is a direct offshoot of cornetist Robert Mazurek's larger free-bop ensemble, the Chicago Underground Orchestra. While Mazurek and percussionist Chad Taylor both come from a more traditional jazz background, 12 Degrees of Freedom finds the duo exploring the outer reaches of improvised music. Their sound reminiscent of trumpeter Don Cherry's immortal duets with drummer Eddie Blackwell, Mazurek and Taylor are an empathic twosome who thrive on intuitive interactions and musical acrobatics. The composition "January 15th" opens with Taylor soloing over Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech before settling into a roller coaster ride for drum and cornet. Guitarist Jeff Parker joins in on three tracks while Mazurek plays piano and Taylor works the vibraphone. A very solid and entertaining effort. --Mitch Myers

12 Degrees of Freedom,Chicago Underground Duo,Thrill Jockey,Jazz,Pop,Post-Bop

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Tracks:

The Pursued
Not Quite Dark Yet And The Stars Shining Above The Withered Fields
January 15th
The Big Bang Theory
Waiting For You Is Like Watching Stillness Grow Into Enormous Wings
Twelve Degrees Of Freedom
Lemon Grass
Gratitude
Into The Unanimous Blue

Amazon.com

The Chicago Underground Duo is a direct offshoot of cornetist Robert Mazurek's larger free-bop ensemble, the Chicago Underground Orchestra. While Mazurek and percussionist Chad Taylor both come from a more traditional jazz background, 12 Degrees of Freedom finds the duo exploring the outer reaches of improvised music. Their sound reminiscent of trumpeter Don Cherry's immortal duets with drummer Eddie Blackwell, Mazurek and Taylor are an empathic twosome who thrive on intuitive interactions and musical acrobatics. The composition "January 15th" opens with Taylor soloing over Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech before settling into a roller coaster ride for drum and cornet. Guitarist Jeff Parker joins in on three tracks while Mazurek plays piano and Taylor works the vibraphone. A very solid and entertaining effort. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews:

Underground No More ( And Not Chicago Either).......2002-11-02

Sad to say, the Chicago Underground Duo is no longer...Rob Manzurek has moved on to "greener pastures" in New York I think. It is becoming something of a Chicago cliche...record and record and record, establish a reputation, and then move! This is our loss here in the Windy City because the Underground Duo was certainly a great improv group.

This recording is my favorite of this band. Less indebted to electronica, most of this album is just Manzurek on coronet and Taylor on either drums or vibes. The atmosphere on the disc is open and spacious. This is not "blow your socks off" energy jazz. Rather it is moody and thoughtful, reminisent of Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell's classic duo Mu. At times, Manzurek can sound almost like Miles in his early jazz rock days. At other times you can hear the Duo's origins in traditional bop. But mostly the album is unlike any other free improvised music, at least here in Chicago. It has heart and a brain and is endlessly fascinating to hear.

In a town where free music is increasingly dominated by imitators of Ken Vandermark, at least on the North Side, it was refreshing to hear something based on a different aesthetic. Here's wishing Rob Manzurek luck in New York. And at least we have this lovely CD.

a minimal language.......2001-07-04

this is the most important album of CUD.Almost, the feeling and the imagination in this record is a infinite expierence, based in the IMPROVISATION,i believe that, A CAN FEEL IT !!!!.LEMON GRASS,12 degrees of freedom and the pursued, beautiful songs that shows a minimal sound, combinated with spaces of nothingness.you can hear a VOID and feel your room like that! nothing? but the duo is great!

(from Popwatch #10).......2001-02-11

Call me a snob but I think that the group of Chicago bands with the same pool of rotating members (Herndon, Bitney, Parker, Brown...) tend to be better the further they get away from rock music. The determined originality of Gastr del Sol, the dub-informed prog-pulse exercises of Tortoise, and the vivacious post-bop explorations of the Vandermark 5 are all free of rock's often stultifying straightjacket. This particular duo is Chad Taylor on percussion and vibes with Rob Mazurek on cornet (mainly.)Mazurek marries the bebop heritage to Morton Feldman, and their baby is beautiful. These nine cuts are sparse and largely improvised so the album doesn't come across as a grand statement, but rather more like research. If you have the time and money to pick up a little thing like this then do it. If not, then every two months there will be a dozen more from the Windy City clique, who apparently record and release every stage of their progress. -- Jack Walton, Popwatch magazine #10

A cooler, spaced take for this outstanding duo.......2001-02-05

The Chicago Underground Duo's discs are among the best recordings in my massive collection of many genres. This album is more sublime when compared to Synesthesia or the Trio/Orchestra albums. Mazareck and Taylor seem more subdued and dreamy. This is a wonderful thing. Just as fabulous as the explosive and sputtering excitement of Synesthesia but with more space and a slower agenda. CUD will become a historical collaboration. Collect them all.

Average customer rating:

12 Degrees of Freedom
Chicago Underground Duo
Manufacturer: Thril
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000I2N3

Tracks:

Pursued
Not Quite Dart Yet And Th
Jauary 15th
Big Bang Theory
Waiting For You Is Like W
Twelve Degrees Of Freedom
Lemon Grass
Gratitude
Into The Unanimous Blue
Dream Tigers

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