Maher Shalal Hash Baz – (CD)

The name Maher Shalal Hash Baz comes from The Book of Isaiah, meaning plunder quickly. Tori Kudo, their conductor and band leader, fuses stray elements of pop, folk, jazz and experimental music into pieces of candid musical gestures. Bassoon, guitar, drums, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, glass percussion, organ, rocks and sticks are expanded by a sophisticated counter-repetition technique into an extensive tonal range of colors; the effect is at turns serene, dissonant, enchanting, crisp, spacious and maddeningly catchy. The future of music on Planet Earth. Listen closely, please.