E.S.P. play laid back jazz in the tradition of the greats. E.S.P. are Karl Sterling (drums), Matthew Vacanti (string bass and electic bass), John Magnante (electric and acoustic guitars), and Brian Scherer (sax, flute). E.S.P. fit the mold left behind by artists of the mid to late 70’s, where fretless basses became part of the norm, everything involved cheese and crackers, and smooth was not the texture felt on a woman’s ass. E.S.P. are not a smooth jazz group, although in songs like “La Hija” they would sound perfect at a supermarket opening as they would at a winery. E.S.P. would ask themselves “is that meant as an insult?” but since they have E.S.P. they would know that it was my way of being sly while being genuine about their approach to their sound. E.S.P. get locked into a mildly warm funky groove, and when I combine the words funk and mild, do not expect Parliament or Eddie Bo jumping in with the jookanoo. E.S.P. play this mild funky jam called “Copper Room”, and I am left to then ask “does this song smell like pennies, or maybe a freshly popped boil and if so, what is the consistency of the pus?” E.S.P. leads me to ask “can you talk about our music without being overly gross or abstract?” and I say no, because this is my review and I’m going to do it my way, as they do in “Be Bop Da Wap”, “Meet Me In Paris”, and the no-room-for-a-two-thumb-pry punch of “Post Bop Republic”. E.S.P. interrupts by asking “what in the world is a two-thumb-pry?” and I say if you don’t know, you never will, although while listening to Time’s Up (Spider) you’re going to know that this band is capable of playing and moving people to dance, head nod, or lift your hands in joy because you are feeling the jazz spirit. E.S.P. are perhaps not psychic, nor psychotic, but then again this is the first time I brought up the word psychotic in this review and why, I imagine E.S.P. asking themselves, would this writer do this? E.S.P. will now read the part of this review where I say “it’s a word that sounds similar, at least in theory”, and I will add that these guys do things with theory, methodically, and it’s exciting to hear something done with a lot of power and presence without having to play too loud or get into pockets they don’t want to get in. E.S.P. are pocket sewers, not pocket jumpers, and that to me is what makes this work.
E.S.P. would also like for me to tell you that Barry Blumenthal is a special guest on this album, with his role as a keyboardist.
This Is Book's Music 