Protuberance | Treated and Released | Zerx Records 019

Mark Weaver’s tuba roots the sound with some elegance for such a seemingly awkward instrument, meshing surprisingly well with the other players. Drummer Dave Wayne’s playing is engagingly funky, though with an ear tuned for the sudden off-beat investigation of his kit á là Joey Baron – he takes a fine solo on the self-penned “T. W.” too. Yet, despite the fact that Weaver’s written most of the tunes, and that his tuba is occasionally let loose (showing considerable agility on “Deflections” and some grace on “Soon Enough”), the lead sound here is undoubtedly Paul Pulaski’s guitar. He’s a player of some ability, with a sound I couldn’t really pin down – at times he approaches Bill Frisell’s territory (volume swells, and bent chords), though is perhaps closest to a trickier Marc Ribot – he’s got a slightly sharper, clanging, bluesier tone than most jazz players, which contrasts well with the broad sound of the tuba. The only problem here is that the lack of variation in sound eventually begins to show. No matter how good the players and the tunes are – and they are good – this combination played and recorded “straight” is ultimately a little limiting. Yet I can still heartily recommend this CD to fans of quirky, funky leftfield jazz. Even despite that name. —Dan Hill Continue reading