Things have been happening for Cuong Vu since he moved out to Seattle. One of them is Agogic (T & C 001). Maestro Vu's trumpet locks in with Andrew D'Angelo's serpentine alto and bass clarinet, and they are held buoyant by the boldly blistering bass and drums of Luke Bergman and Evan Woodle, respectively. Add some smart avant-funk writing and some very cool interactions and soloing from the front line, mix that up with the boldly assertive, pin-incision precision of the rhythm team and you have Agogic.
I am not being flip because what that something is is something. It's edgy and hip. impolite and brash, energized and iconoclastic. But all in a way that takes care to give you much more than anything close to standard operating procedure funk. This is NOT business as usual. That thanks to all concerned, who push into liftoff mode early on and continue to thrust upwards until orbit is achieved. It's a matter of good writing, good atmosphere, good soloing and good rhythm-team innovation throughout.
Strongly recommended then.
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