Magnetic Ear: Ear Say
Saxophonist Martin Krusche is sitting at the dining room table in his Ninth Ward home alongside saxophonist Dan Oestreicher, trombonists Wes Anderson IV and Jon RammGramenz, tuba player Steven Glenn and drummer Paul Thibodeaux, the musicians who these days comprise his long-running, ever-evolving band, Magnetic Ear. It’s early spring and they’ve just wrapped a rehearsal for the CD release party for their latest album, Live at Vaughan’s. Krusche, with some help from Oestreicher, is trying to pinpoint the elements that combined to make the recording feel like their strongest release to date.
Topping the list is the fact that they cut the disc immediately after returning home from a tour in Germany during Oktoberfest, where their unusual sound—a jazz-based blend of brass band styles from New Orleans and Europe mixed with influences ranging from funk to West African music to Cuban music to rock—had the crowd rocking out on beer tent table tops and dancing along with the second line they led through the town of Oberammergau.
“People lost their fucking minds,” says Oestreicher, who has some experience judging strong audience reactions given his years of work as Trombone Shorty’s baritone player. “It was like we were Justin Bieber or something.”
Madonna might be a more apt pop star comparison, given Magnetic Ear’s propensity for reinventing itself. What began as an experimental jazz trio platform for Krusche’s notoriously knotty compositions has evolved over time into its own version of a New Orleans brass band. These days, the six-piece group toys with expectations about
Article source: https://www.offbeat.com/articles/magnetic-ear-ear-say/