''Slon'' is the third album from the Chicago Underground Trio. The album was released in January 2004 on

Thrill Jockey Records Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

. This is their first release on Thrill Jockey, their first two albums were released by

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

. The album was produced by Bundy K. Brown. The trio consists of Rob Mazurek on

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

, Noel Kupersmith on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and Chad Taylor on

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

. This is their last release with bassist Noel Kupersmith. Mazurek and Taylor have also combined as the Chicago Underground Duo and with the Chicago Underground Orchestra.

Overview

''Slon'' combines the sounds of a traditional jazz combo with electronic overdubs. The songs were developed during their European No War Tour and written over a one-month period then recorded in Chicago. The track "Palmero" includes recorded sounds from a Sicilian

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

. This is their last release with bassist Noel Kupersmith, Jason Ajemian plays bass on their next release, ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

''.

Reception

In comparison to their earlier work, Gregory McIntosh of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writes that the combo is "more focused on an overall concept for the record as an atmospheric listen" and that the album "is a document of a band that has really hit its stride". When commenting on the combo's use of computers John L. Walters of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote that they use them for "anything from ambient noise to throbbing riffs". He goes on to write that "Mazurek's inventive improvisations dance around Taylor's live, open-sounding kit, while Kupersmith's bass sound stays oddly, unfashionably low." Rex Butters of

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

wrote that ''Slon'' has "heated high speed interplay and cold techno ice caps" and calls the musicians "gifted improvisers at the top of their game". In ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'', Tad Hendrickson wrote that the production by Bundy K. Brown "helps bring the album into sharper focus" and calls the work "nicely done". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

s Mark Richardson noted: "although the Trio operate within a smaller sphere than many of their contemporaries, they remain open to possibility and produce inspired combinations of seemingly different sounds-- and the economical and engaging ''Slon'' is evidence that they're on to something." Brian Baker of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' called the musicians "phenomenal jazz talents interested in technological possibilities... as well as jazz's venerable heritage," and called the recording "an album of power, vision and conviction." John Schacht listed the album as one of his top twenty favorite albums of 2004 in ''

Creative Loafing Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of an arts and culture news and events newspaper/magazine. The company historically published a weekly publication that once had a 160,000 weekly circulation. While Creative Loafing is no longer p ...

'', calling the combo "the best jazz ensemble many jazz fans have never heard".

Track listing

''All tracks written by the Chicago Underground Trio'' #"Protest" (6:29) #"Slon" (4:56) #"Zagreb" (6:39) #"Sevens" (3:00) #"Campbell" (6:57) #"Kite" (4:35) #"Palermo" (3:20) #"Shoe Lace" (4:32) #"Pear" (3:02)

Credits

* Rob Mazurek –

computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', ...

*Noel Kupersmith –

, computers * Chad Taylor –

* Bundy K. Brown –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, mixing, producer *Sheila Sachs –

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

*Bill Skibbe – tape splicing

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Chicago Underground Trio albums