Apothecary Charms is so unbelievably different than what I ve heard from Dave Halverson, that I m really not sure what to think. March Forth was a bit rigid in tradition, from what little I can recall. I mean, songs like When Johnny Comes Marching Home done in modern contemporary jazz don t necessarily scream outside the box. But there s none of that here.


The first notes of A Quick Dance On A Shallow Grave find Halverson straying into unfamiliar waters in the jazz world distorted guitar. And then Scary Night continues the trend in obscuring the traditional boundaries of a genre that s been shredded by the greats like Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. The emphasis here is definitely guitar, and Halverson s blend of rock and jazz blends the genres in a way that at times seems slightly experimental.


Apothecary Charms is also an array of soundscapes, from the more pointed, rock-driven jazz of A Quick Dance On A Shallow Grave and Postulus , to the experimental elements backed by electro-funk in K , to the more drawn-out tonal The Agonist , and even the more clean err I say traditional sounding guitar in Addition By Refraction .


For the modern jazz fan, Halverson appeals to the bizarre: Apothecary Charms is not your parents contemporary radio-friendly jazz. This is for the true jazz lover and the fan of obscure rock.


-Fense

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