The Odd Dogs' Beneath the Surface

There's a difference between nostalgia and finding yourself somewhere you haven't been in a long time. The Odd Dogs, a group of jazz fusion musicians from Los Angeles, do come from another time, a period in jazz history when everything broke loose and intrepid musicians gathered up the pieces, scooping up bits of rock and funk and plugging everything into a wall outlet. The old jazz tropes weren't exactly discarded--they became important ingredients in a very new recipe. I was but a kid when this happened, back when Al Di Meola and Weather Report and others were creating a new sound that attracted a new generation of fans, ones that grew up on experimental rock in the '60s and '70s and were already prepped for entry into this musical frontier.

The Odd Dogs aren't a throwback to the first wave of jazz fusion, but they will remind you of the best stuff from the past. This quintet--guitarist Jeff Miley, bassist Steve Billman, saxophonist/keyboardist Andy Suzuki, drummer Ralph Humphrey and percussionist Billy Hulting--are creating a new type of fusion that belongs squarely in 2018. You can hear those old fusion strains ducking in and out of these tracks, just bumping up against classic Santana, Zappa or even Chicago, but you can also hear the oh-so-modern influence of math rock. We're not talking about the unusual time signatures, of which there are many, but rather the lean and clean aesthetic that's more contemporary.

The Odd Dogs were originally thought of as a "power trio," formed by longtime friends Billman and Miley. I'm glad they expanded a bit since it's the unique textures that make Beneath the Surface so intriguing. The quintet is able to shift moods effortlessly--one song will be a total shred, aggressive and mean, and the next will dial back the snarl and be far more easygoing than any fusion song from the late '70s and early '80s. These five men are versatile beyond belief--there are even a few stray moments when they play straight jazz and they do it exceptionally well.

Another plus is the extraordinary sound quality of this recording. It's clean and yet natural--you'll never dig deeper into an electric bass guitar than you will here. This is the type of fun, dynamic fusion recording that's also strong on detail, with one little moment after another creating distinct visions and ideas. The Odd Dogs are a natural extension of that fascinating music that appeared thirty or forty years ago, so different and yet so appealing. If you're a big fan of fusion and you're still obsessing over Heavy Weather, this album will take you back and make you smile.