In a world that’ increasingly crazy and chaotic, sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back, put on some wild and trippy retro-minded yet fresh furious and contemporary jazz fusion and realize, as Chicago’s multi-faceted ensemble Bonzo Squad reminds us, that There’s Always Tomorrow.
Filled with tight, funky grooves, offbeat rhythms, long jams, short moody meditations, bold synth washes and lasers (by keyboardist Andrew Lawrence) and Corbin Andrick’s feisty reeds, this tight, less than half hour collection packs an alternately dreamy and furious punch.
Formed in 2017 and establishing themselves via their weekly engagements at Chicago’s Arrogant Frog and residency at AliveOne, the group – perfectly described by some as “Comfort in Chaos” - harkens back to the glorious, freewheeling, days of Weather Report, Return to Forever and the “out there” version of George Duke.
Yet thankfully, they don’t revel in nostalgia. Rather, propelled by the rhythm section of Andrew Vogt and Zack Marks and imagination as far as the ears can conceive, they successfully navigate bridges towards a snappy, shimmering future for jazz fusion.