OPENING CHORUS: FIVE FOR GROOVING
“In Jon Lundbom’s group Big Five Chord, bouncy and free can coexist…influences blend together in satisfying ways; engaging melodies and free jazz interplay combine, without losing a sense of groove. …‘I think Jon’s always had his own voice and his own direction,’ [Bryan] Murray recalls. ‘He never tried to mimic someone else or sound like another player. He always had that drive, knew how he wanted to sound and worked at it.’ …It’s a provocative mix of grooves and tangled, last-moving themes…this guitarist aims to blow some more minds.”
Tim Niland, ‘Music and More’ 05/06/19
“The instruments thrust and parry making statements and asking questions…never sounding flashy, yet seriously impressive…improvisation that is very exciting to hear, with snarling guitar and rending horns really tearing into their sound, reminiscent of the legendary band Last Exit at times…collective improvisation at its thrilling finest.”
Eric Snider, ‘Jazziz’ 05/01/19
“This is what happens when five like-minded musicians strike the ideal balance between structure and freedom, give it a coat of sly irreverence and perform it with unbridled joy. ‘Harder on the Outside’ is a triumph… [Lundbom] hews closely to jazz on his probing solo for ‘Cereal,’ but cranks up the sustain and goes into full metal frenzy on ‘Prednisone,’ then punishes the strings in the collective noisefest that is ‘Fussing Blues.’ The lead track, ‘People Be Talking,’ features his most intriguing solo, a slippery, slurry excursion over free rhythm that sounds as if it’s darting around corners to stay just ahead of the listener. Lundbom can noise it up with the best of ’em, and is also a master of building crescendos that spur his bandmates into joining the fun.”
Ken Waxman, ‘JazzWord’ 04/12/19
“Combining improvisational smarts with rhythmic grooves…Big Five Chord have churned out another set of tracks that you can play for your Rock, Roots and Metal loving friends without aggravating pure Jazz associates. That’s because beneath the appropriate foot-tapping bombast are finely honed concepts. …BVC inhabit the vortex where Albert Ayler and Link Wray may have found common ground. …[Lundbom] can shred and splinter frails with the best, he also exhibits easygoing chromatic picking when needed.”
Jerome Wilson, ‘All About Jazz’ 4/10/19
★★★★
“A complex web of sampling, beat construction and live improvisation all led to this…a heady stew of hard-edged funk grooves, squalling saxophones and gleeful guitar freakouts. …The resulting torrent sounds like James Brown’s rhythm section jamming with Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time band and guitarist John McLaughlin. …Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord lay down an energetic free-for-all on this CD that underscores heavy rock guitar and wild saxophone blowing with relentless funk beats for a sound full of crazed joy.”
Tim Niland, ‘Music and More’ 04/07/19
“Music that is complex but fun to listen to…a raw and real sound. The band really stretches out around the blowing, creating a very cool sound that is fresh and invigorating, with strong peals of sharp saxophone set against a buoyant backdrop. …[The ‘Beats by Balto!’] process worked very well and produced an album of real value… Hopefully this success will spur the musicians to further volumes and even more daring experiments.”
Peter Thelen, ‘Expose’ 03/26/19
“Hard-grooved funky jazz…[Lundbom] provides some blistering solo work throughout… One thing this recording is not short of is pure intensity, and it seems like around every corner one player or another is giving their everything while others carry the groove or comp to fill in the cracks… Lundbom produces his bracing and explorative solos. …Even with a heavy moving groove, double bass and a distinctively jazz approach to the drum kit on the bottom end differentiates this from your typical power funk, even though Lundbom is ripping it open on electric. …It’s a wild ride throughout for the adventurous listener, so fasten your seat belt before the first cut and you’ll be safe!”
George W. Harris, ‘Jazz Weekly’ 03/25/19
“Fluid molten gold.”
Simon Sargsyan, ‘JazzBluesNews.Space’ 03/21/19
A full-length interview with JazzBluesNews.Space! Read it here.
Michael Toland, ‘The Austin Chronicle’ 03/22/19
★★★
“Lundbom’s burning improvisation hits viscerally, zipping past the cerebrum and heading straight for the groin. The manner in which hip-grinding cadence meets outsider extemporization on ‘Three Plus’ and ‘Booberonic’ needs no intellectual evaluation to appreciate, and a free-jazz take on banjoist Frank Littig’s ‘Fussing Blues’ bypasses rationality entirely. Forget the schematics and simply enjoy ‘Harder on the Outside’ as gut music.”