Stellar Power by CACAW

When musicologists of the future look back to find the missing link between the avant-jazz and synth rock of the early 21st century and the hybrid sounds that have yet to reach our contemporary ears, the formation of the futurist jazz trio CACAW may represent a key point on that evolutionary timeline. With music inspired by the love between robots, the swallowing of one star by another, and elements in a state of change, the band’s 2013 debut CD, Stellar Power, is an album driven by transition, whether in the music or in the cosmos.

CACAW’s sound ranges from steamrolling sludge rock to the glassy synth washes of a 1980s Michael Mann soundtrack, from angular complexity to shimmering, ethereal soundscapes and corrosive noise. The band continually evolves, absorbing ideas and influences from across the contemporary musical spectrum while maintaining the spontaneity and invention of jazz and the edge and attitude of experimental rock, as indebted to indie rock artists like Boards of Canada and Thom Yorke as to jazz influences such as Tim Berne and Andrew Hill.

Keyboardist/composer Landon Knoblock has lived in New York since 2007. He’s played with a wide range of artists including Andrew D'Angelo, Ron Horton, Ben Allison, Michael Blake, and Jeff Lederer. His last album, Gasoline Rainbow, was a duo recording with prog rock/metal drummer Jason Furman, while his own music ranges from pointillist solo piano to multi-hued synthesizer constructions. Bruce Lindsay of All About Jazz has described his music as “unpredictable, energetic, beautiful, loud, soft, subtle, and surprising.”

Saxophonist Oscar Noriega, a twenty-year veteran of the boundary-breaking New York jazz scene, is a member of Tim Berne’s Snakeoil and the collective quartet Endangered Blood. He’s worked with Tom Rainey, Cuong Vu, Brad Shepik, and Slavic Soul Party, among others. Drummer Jeff Davis is a member of Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas, Tone Collector with Opsvik and saxophonist Tony Malaby, and Michael Bates’ Outside Sources. The in-demand drummer has played or recorded with a number of jazz greats, including the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, Jon Irabagon, Kris Davis, Ryan Keberle, Gebhard Ullmann, and Ralph Alessi.

Composer for film and television.

LandonKnoblockMusic.com