The Chicago Junglebop Syndicate is a collective of working experimental jazz musicians based around the burgeoning modern jazz breakbeat style in Chicago commonly known as Junglebop. Founded by Chicago jungalist drummer, IZM Records and The Muse Cafe owner - Dave Z Marsalek , this sound's been streaming throughout the Windy City since 2003. Junglebop, being a new thing in the jazz world, is a logical yet intense pairing of jazz instrumentation, improvisation, standards with a fusion of bebop, drum & bass, jungle, glitch, dub grooves based largely around a hybrid electro-acousticism & new vocabulary in the rhythem section. Truly experimental and progressive, Junglebop is a Chicago scene in the making, currently underground, making waves in jazz massives around the city and several important jam sessions/workshops devoted to the improvisation and exploration of this style, starting with the successful run at The Muse Cafe with the 4th fridays Workshop from Dec 06 thru March 07.
Drum samplers/pads, loop pedals, tweeked mic placements and mixing boards, horns through fx, and an electro-acoustic hybridization that takes the canon of jazz and adds the destructively potent grooves of drumNbass, jungle and fragmented idm/glitch.
Junglebop started with the Chicago live modern jazz breakbeat outfit, Trioizm with Dave Z Marsalek-traps, Felix Moreno-bass { Future Rock }, & Joe Grez-sax/fx {The Yellowhouse}. After Trioizm recorded its legendary full length, Junglebop , on Chicago's IZM RECORDS the trio disbanded after a successful 2-year run & the surviving members, Dave and Joe regrouped and started the urban cafe lounge/jazz club Muse Cafe at 817 n milwaukee ave to further the live jungle/jazz/freespazz scene in Chicago. The outcome? The Electro-Acoustic Workshop . In Jan 06' Dave Z Marsalek { SPIZM } organized material, arrangements & engagements for an uber Junglebop outfit called Steps(74) featuring Joe Grez-tenor { TRIOIZM } , Brian Niebuhr-trumpet { Doppler Shift } & Matthew Golombisky - upright/electric bass/likableNoise { QMR Plus / Tommorrow Music Orchestra / Gk Duo } to host both the initial electro-acoustic workshop on Feb 2nd 06' and also a latenite gig at Weeds that same nite. Featuring burning rekontructed jazz standards such as: 4 on 6, night in tunisia, several originals, and many more, the live Jungle/DNB/Jazz workshop & weeds went explosively well with large crowds, and a seed was planted at The Muse Cafe. The monthly Electro-Acoustic Workshop continued at The Muse with local live avantronica d&b outift, 7 League Boots to much local acclaim and the Junglebop idea was set on the burner for the moment.
As they say, the rest is history, but in fact it's much more complicated than that. This is where the CJS was born.
Dave Z Marsalek spearheaded the idea of a larger collective stemming from Steps(74) acting as a workshop for this new style. After much verbal collaboration & arrangement with local MC Philasoph & lyracist L. Zaide along with a dozen or so talented forward-looking local lions { Matthew Golombisky - upright/electric bass/likable noise, Matt Nelson -keys, Fred Krubel-guitar, Joe Grez - tenor sax, Doppler Shift's Brain Niebuhr - trumpet and Ray Pandocchi - tenor sax & Aguafuego's JBeatz -flute/vocals}, the idea was set. August 31st 06' premiered The Chicago Junglebop Syndicate at Weed's with 2 long sets of burning music. The repetoire traveled from a smokin version of Vandermark 5's "Last Call" to Red Snapper's "Crusoe takes a Trip" to DJ Shadow's " Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" using live samples to Wayne Shorter's "Witchhunt" and Baltimore's Injection Quartet's classic "The Chase" {a staple of the Trioizm live set as well} to Coltrane's "Naima" & a hiphop/dnb version of "Syeeda's Flute Song" & a rendition of Minugs' take on All The Things You C as "My Eyes Speak Softly". Short video clips can be viewed on FREESPAZZ on YOU TUBE & here on myspace video {type junglebop}.
The post-jazzfest CJS Showcase launched a monthly progressive Jam Session at The Muse Cafe which ran from Dec 06 thru March 07 (Muse's last nite was March 28th 07) hosted by electric trumpet player, John Bescup { Steak Fries Reprise / Spacehorn7000 } , bassist Matthew Golombisky & junglebop trappist Dave "spiZ" Marsalek .
The workshop also had help with local guitarist Aaron Koppel & Doppler's shift's Jon Markese - electric. Recordings from the Workshop can be heard on both Chicago Junglebop Syndicate's myspace, Steps(74) & a larger source, ReverbNation.com
From the workshop's successful execution of the junglebop vision, IZM Records proudly released a live CD called "ITS TIME" of the Best Of the Muse CJS Workshop. The release party occured on fri August 31st 07 at Weeds {1555 Dayton St in Chicago}, which is both the 1-year anniversary of the Chicago Junglebop Syndicate's conception & a post party for the Chicago Jazzfest.
The DVD is still in production with a release date in the Fall 07'. The live DVD was shot by local videographer, Mitch aka Crazy Lombardo & audio was taken from the digital recording documention of John Bescup.
The Chicago Junglebop Syndicate is dedicated to the burgeoning art of live junglejazz, abstract techno postjazz and freespazz. The CJS invites you to join our syndicate and be a part of this new chicago-based movement. If you are interested in partaking in our events, message Dave here at the CJS myspace page."Chicago is under deconstruction...the new noise, the new thing...Junglebop is happening in chitown, ill noise". ---------------------
