September 15, 2005

As if headlining the 2005 Warped Tour 2005 wasn

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey return on October 11, 2005 with their brand new studio album, The Sameness of Difference, on HYENA Records.
Helmed by acclaimed record producer, Joel Dorn, the 13-track collection is a living, breathing, pulsating testament to the 12 years the Tulsa/Cincinnati-based trio has spent touring and recording together. It is unquestionably the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey’s piece de resistance–a post modern jazz masterwork.

Exploring their influences, which stretch from cutting edge indie rock to experimental electronic music to classic pop, all the while rooted in an obsession with the modern jazz canon, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey offer interpretations of music by Bjork (“Isobel”), The Flaming Lips (“The Spark That Bled”), Charles Mingus (“Fables of Faubus”), Neil Young (“Don’t Let It Bring You Down”) Brian Wilson (“Wonderful”), Dave Brubeck (“In Your Own Sweet Way”), The Beatles (“Happiness Is A Warm Gun”) and Jimi Hendrix (“Have You Ever Been To Electric Ladyland”). Their own material is also well represented, as original compositions, “Santiago,” “The Maestro,” “Halliburton Breakdown,” “Slow Breath, Silent Mind” and “Davey’s Purple Powerline” are etched in stone for the first time ever in the studio.

Chicago instrumental rock act Tortoise tackles material by some unlikely sources on “The Brave and the Bold,” a collaborative album with indie rock icon Will Oldham. The 10-track set is due early next year via Overcoat Recordings, which recently issued a collaborative EP from Iron & Wine and Calexico.

Among the surprising selections on “The Brave and the Bold” are Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” Elton John’s “Daniel” and Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Cavalry Cross.” The album is rounded out by material originally recorded by Devo (“That’s Pep”), the Minutemen (“It’s Expected I’m Gone”), Milton Nascimento, Lungfish, Quixotic, Melanie and Don Williams.

Meanwhile, Tortoise is gearing up for its fall tour backing artist/producer Daniel Lanois, which begins Oct. 6 in Los Angeles. The parties have yet to rehearse together, but McCombs says the “idea is that we can be interpretive, like using his songs as a jumping-off point to do whatever seems natural. Most of the stuff he sent us is really open-ended.”

Tortoise will also test out some new material during its own sets, with an eye on returning to the studio by the end of the year and a hopeful fall 2006 release date for its next Thrill Jockey album. It will be the follow-up to 2004’s “It’s All Around You,” which debuted at No. 13 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums tally.

Source: Billboard