"The four musicians in Juke are each outstanding instrumentalists and composers in their own right. Collectively, they bring an intriguing array of influences and a formidable wealth of chops to the table and put a fresh spin on the contemporary electric jazz ensemble. While their individual bodies of work span every conceivable genre and milieu (club gigs, tours, studio work, film scoring, etc.), there can be no arguing that at heart, these are jazz men, players who improvise with personal voices, stretching and pushing boundaries, be they rhythmic, harmonic, textural, or what-have-you.
Their de facto leader is Tad McCully, a drummer who is a descendant of players like Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Dave Weckl, and he shares their knack for combining precision, unpredictability, intensity and command of the vast array of colors possible on his instrument. His sci-fi inspired composition “THE SKY ON MARS†kicks things off in a modal, 6/8 bag, allowing plenty of space for inspired solos by keyboardist Ted Cruz and guitarist Aurelien Budynek, before Tad wraps things up with a dynamic, loose-limbed solo of his own.
Aurelien, a startlingly talented young musician from that mecca of the grape, Bordeaux, France, contributes the second tune, “GREEN DUST,†spotlighting his work on the seldom-heard fretless guitar and doing nothing to dispel the futuristic, sci-fi funk vibe saturating the proceedings. Ted once again fires off an exciting solo on the Fender Rhodes as well.
Tad’s tribute to the great bassist Paul Socolow, “SOCO-GROOVE,†moves along nicely in a funky 7/8 feel while Ted keeps pushing into the future with ethereal synth pads beneath it all. After Aurelien’s fiery solo, bassist Jon Price steps into the foreground with a fascinating solo of his own (the highlight of the tune), revealing harmonic sophistication, soulful blues flavor, and some frightening chops. Tad gives us another taste of his virtuoso soloing over an odd-time ostinato figure that brings things up to a furious climax.
The final tune, “JUKE,†lends its name to the band and reveals the compelling compositional talent of keyboardist Cruz. The song is emblematic of the band’s approach in general, a study in contrasts which here include an edgy, rhythmic unison line, a warmer ensemble passage and a sequence of “tutti†hits that launch more burning solos from Aurelien and Ted.
While I listened to the men of Juke do their thing I couldn’t help but think of the future. Yes, there are futuristic themes here, reflected by some of the song titles, and there are certainly futuristic sounds coming from the instruments of each of the players. But it’s the players themselves who represent the future for me, a new breed of musician who is uncompromising in his integrity and skill, who is more open to a wider swath of influences then ever before, and who knows how to integrate that incoming data into his own expression. These are men who speak with their own voices and listen with enormous ears to the universe of sound we all live in. Together, they push the margins of that universe a little bit further every time they play."
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--Toby Wine, CHERRY LANE MUSIC PUB.
"THIS BAND IS BURNING...THE SONGS ARE GREAT, AND THEY ALL PLAY THEIR ASSES OFF!" --Oz Noy
"THESE GUYS ARE PLAYING THEIR BUTTS OFF!" --Tim LeFebvre
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