As an instrument, the saxophone has taken a beating to its credibility. Blame it on its overuse as the solo instrument du jour during the 1980s or the fact that Lisa Simpson was its prime advocate during the 1990s… for whatever reason, the instrument was for a long time the aural equivalent of nerd germs.
More recently, though, brave souls like Mats Gustafsson and Colin Stetson have restored the saxophone to the screaming skronky pedestal that it deserves. They even collaborated on an album called Stones last year to remind the world exactly how bad-ass saxophones can be.
Matt Nelson is another genre-bending saxophonist who wears his saxophone (around his neck with one of those little clip things) with pride. After adding his skills to early tUnE-yArDs recordings and setting ears on fire in his saxophone quartet Battle Trance Nelson is now set to unleash his solo record Lower Bottoms.
The record will be available on October 21 via Tubapede Records and features four huge, dizzying slabs of Nelson’s saxophone running through guitar pedals and feeding back into itself. It may not be the type of sax solo that INXS would approve of, but that in itself should be a reason to check it out. Pre-order it here.
The album was recorded live to tape by Eli Crews (Deerhoof, Nels Cline, tUnE-yArDs) and was apparently conceived in the lead-up to saliva gland surgery that Nelson was about to undergo which may have left him unable to wail into the future. Thankfully, Nelson got through the surgery and is now set to release Lower Bottoms and tour extensively on his own and with Battle Trance (who also have an album out soon on NNA Tapes/New Amsterdam).
Lower Bottoms tracklist:
01. Sunk Cost
02. Sworn Enemies
03. Motor Mouth
04. To Believe In What
Solo dates:
10.04.14 - New York City, NY - The Stone
10.25.14 - Oakland, CA - Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut
10.27.14 - Portland, OR - Habesha Lounge
10.29.14 - Seattle, WA - TBA
11.30.14 - Brooklyn NY - Snugs Concert Series (Record Release Party)
Dates w/ Battle Trance:
09.01.14 - Kittery, ME - The Buoy
09.02.14 - Burlington, VT - Jenke Arts
09.03.14 - Montreal, QC - Casa del Poplo
09.04.14 - Ottawa, ON - Mugshots
09.05.14 - Toronto, ON - Array Space
09.06.14 - Cleveland, OH - Now That’s Class
09.07.14 - Chicago, IL - Constellation
09.08.14 - Detroit, MI - Trinosophes
09.09.14 - Kalamazoo, MI - TBA
09.10.14 - Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College
09.11.14 - Buffalo, NY - Silo Sessions
09.24.14 - Brooklyn, NY - Roulette
09.26.14 - Baltimore, MD - The Red Room
09.27.14 - Washington, DC - Union Arts
10.30.14 - Vancouver, BC - Emerald Lounge
11.01.14 - Seattle, WA - Earshot Jazz Festival
11.02.14 - Portland, OR - Habesha Lounge
11.04.14 - Sacramento, CA - TBA
11.05.14 - San Francisco, CA - Center for New Music
11.06.14 - Oakland, CA - Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut
11.07.14 - Los Angeles, CA - Equitable Vitrines
11.20.14 - Philadelphia, PA - The Rotunda
• Matt Nelson: http://mattnelsonsax.com
• Tubapede: http://tubapederecords.com
More about: Battle Trance, Matt Nelson, tUnE-yArDs
