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Who are Isotope 217? They are five very busy people. Let’s meet them now.
Jeff Parker is a busy man. He’s a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music and has gigged with some giants of the improvised jazz world. He works out his John Abercrombie jazz licks in a group called Tricolor. The group’s name reflects the members’ Asian, Anglo and African heritage. When he’s not playing with Tricolor, he can be found with post-rock icons, Tortoise. Jeff Parker is the founder of a band called Isotope 217.
Rob Mazurek keeps active too. He went to the Bloom School of Jazz, where he made his reputation as a hard bop cornet player. He recorded three straight-ahead jazz records for a Scottish label with George Fludas, played with some blues bands and leads various jam session groups. Since 1995, Mazurek has been moving away from blues and bop and into improvisation and electronica. Rob is possibly best known for his work with Chad Taylor in Chicago Underground Duo (or Trio, Quartet or Orchestra, depending who else in playing with them). Rob is also a member of Isotope 217.
John Herndon comes from the rock side of the tracks. He’s played drums with punk-pop band Poster Children and the more esoteric For Carnations. He’s also played with the eclectic instrumental funk band 5ive Style. Along with Dan Bitney and Doug McCombs, John formed the post rock megaband Tortoise.
The remaining Isotopes are Tortoise founder and Tar Babies percussionist Dan Bitney, and funk bassist (and Tranquillity Bass member) Matt Lux. They’re excellent musicians as well; I simply don’t have as much biographical detail to share.
WHAT IS ISOTOPE 217?
Isotope 217 have been called a lot of things. They are often compared to the experimental jazz rock fusion that Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock recorded in the early 70s. Those are mostly the jazz fans talking. Others have compared them to Phish and even Santana (although for the life of me, I can’t hear it).
The original lineup of Isotope 217 included Sara P. Smith on trombone. That lineup recorded Unstable Molecule, which was a fairly straightforward document of the group’s live sound at the time. By the time they recorded Utonian Automatic, Smith had left the band. Parker and Mazurek stepped up to fill more of the melody space, but more importantly, the group brought in keyboards, drum machines and dub-wise studio techniques.
Who Stole the I Walkman is the latest release from Isotope 217. The way percussion accents add distinctive textures to fusion jazz reminds me of late 70s version of Brand X (which featured a pre-pop star Phil Collins). ‘Moot Ang’, for some reason, reminds me of Don Cherry’s work with Lou Reed on the Bells. The thing that nags me most while listening to Who Stole the I Walkman is that the record makes me think too much of Tortoise and Chicago Underground. That’s not unreasonable, but Tortoise do the ambient rock thing far better, and Chicago Underground make the a stronger electronica/ jazz statement.
Isotope 217 play the Orpheum in Tampa on Sunday, October 29th. This may be the best way to experience the band. These are players with monster chops who thrive on improvisation and jamming. Up close and in person, these musicians will take their music to an entirely different level.
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