Todd Sickafoose is an American jazz and rock musician, composer and producer from San Francisco. He is best known for playing acoustic bass and keyboards with rock vocalist Ani DiFranco, but has also led his own group, Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors. On his new release, he collaborates with violinist Jenny Scheinmann, guitarist Adam Levy, pianist Erik Deutsch, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, accordionist Rob Reich and drummer Allison Miller, while he is responsible for the bass playing and the nine compositions. And it's a tough and varied record that we get to listen to. Sickafosoe writes interesting compositions that challenge the driven "team" of fellow musicians, and the composition of instruments works extremely well throughout the recording. Of course we allow ourselves, as always, to be fascinated by Knuffke's cornet playing. Here, there is as much tradition as innovation in the game, and Levy is an excellent guitarist who fits perfectly into the context. But I am actually most impressed by the bass and Miller's fine drums, which draws the music into a fine landscape. And where Scheinmann gets to shine with her violin playing, it sounds brilliant. And Goldberg's clarinet playing is ongoing and fine, and where he gets to frolic, it swings impeccably. The music is extremely varied, with inspirations from many different musical genres, from swing, via kletzmer and Americana to solid free jazz. And all the way through, the music is fun, interesting and exciting, and throughout, the band performs excellently.
