Devil’s Workshop Big Band - Idle Hands (2003) “Saxophonist Stephen Norfleet and his Devil's Workshop aggregation are a nicely tongue-in-cheek 17-piece teeming with ideas, energy, and I suspect from the rapturous reception at this live date in Virginia, jam band appeal. Several cuts push 12 minutes, yet clearly cues are built into the charts to segue into diverse grooves; the mass of a dozen disarmingly raggedy horns manage not to overwhelm by the judicious use breakdowns and contrapuntal figures. The singalong, Mushroom Tattoos, with a wry rap interlude is a ringer for the all-night trippers but manages not to atrophy because the band stays awake, pianist Daniel Clarke injecting Latin, free jazz and swing breaks, then easing the groove to a final close with Abdullah Ibrahim-like placidity. There's Earth Wind & Fire-style horn antics on Spanish Sanford; 'Nawlins jazz and funk with dashes of Horace Silver in Today Was Good; plus a take on Radiohead's Morning Bell.”
★★★★
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