snobb
Sax player Jon Irabagon is better known as co-founder and co-leader of funny no-nonsense avant-garde jazz parody-circus Mostly Other People Do The Killing (MOPDTK). Irabagon as his own projects leader is usually more serious, more innovative, more experimental and in moments not less humorous.
"Foxy" is a great example. Just looking on the album's cover one can easily recall Sonny Rollins' "Way Out West" from 1957. Irabagon runs on "Foxy" same tenor-double bass-drums trio as Rollins did more than half of a century ago, just Jon's drummer is Barry Altschull (not Rollins' Shelly Manne) and the bassist is Peter Brendler (instead of Rollins' Ray Brown). Than, album's title "Foxy" can issue some association with Rollins' tune "Doxy", but similarities finish here.
Irabagon's "Foxy" is one 78-minutes long improvised jam (separated to twelve "songs"),rooted in blues, bop standards, Ornette Coleman's groovy harmolodics and presented with style and grace. There are no common theme in album's music but Irabagon skilfully adds tuneful snippets here and there all album long. As a result the listener gets album which doesn't sound too monotonous, boringly repetitive or too "out". There are lot of swing, bluesy structures and melodic groove which make this fully improvised album sound almost danceable and really accessible.
Great example of serious modern jazz which doesn't sound too serious, good entry for fans of MOPDTK interested in similar but slightly more experimental music.