Fuzzy Music Label Yields Whimsy and Creativity

Drummer Peter Erskine calls his record company Fuzzy Music. And unlike fuzzy math, it’s an exemplary phrase, used to underscore Erskine’s belief in music “that does not fit the large corporate record company way of thought or aesthetics.” On Monday night at the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, he put that belief into action in an evening featuring two of Fuzzy Music’s best-known bands: his own Lounge Art Ensemble and the group 3prime.

The Lounge Art Ensemble--a trio consisting of Erskine, saxophonist Bob Shepherd and bassist Dave Carpenter--is Fuzzy Music’s flagship group, and with good reason. The instrumentation is similar to a classical chamber trio in the sense that it is the ultimate distillation of the elements necessary for improvisational creativity. And these three musicians, superb individual artists, equally adept as ensemble players, have been together long enough to find their musical linkages with intuitive ease.

One of the whimsical aspects of the Lounge Art Ensemble is the use of material that uses new melodies applied to the chord changes of standard songs. That’s an old technique, of course, particularly favored in the ‘40s by the beboppers. But the humorous twist that the group brings to the process is the application of names to the new songs that are reflective of the originals. Their opening set, for example included “It Already Happened” (on the chords of “It Could Happen to You”) and “Amusing Paramour” (on the chords of “My Funny Valentine”).

The group 3prime--pianist Tom Ranier, bassist Abraham Laboriel and drummer Peter Donald--was similarly craftsmanlike, if less musically compelling. Too predictable in the faster numbers that tended to climax with Laboriel’s snapping bass solo, it was at its best with slower, more thoughtful interpretations of standards.