The Lunar Octet
  • Home
  • Upcoming Gigs
  • Bio of the Band
  • The Musicians
  • VIdeos
  • New CD: Convergence
  • First CD: Highway Fun
  • Press Coverage
    • Performance Reviews
    • Recent Press Coverage
    • Historic Press Coverage
  • History of the Band
    • Past Performances
    • Recordings >
      • Lunar Glee Club >
        • Lunar Glee Club - First Cassette (1984)
        • Lunar Glee Club - WEMU Jazz Competition 1984
        • Lunar Glee Club - Moonburn
        • Lunar Glee Club - Live at the Blind Pig >
          • Volume 1
          • Volume 2
          • Volume 3
        • Lunar Glee Club - Live at the Ann Arbor Art Fair
        • Lunar Glee Club - Cruisin Ann Arbor II
        • Lunar Glee Club - 1984 live performances
        • Apartment Lounge
        • Depot Town
        • WEMU Jazz Competition
        • Graceful Arch 1985
        • Graceful Arch 1984
        • Eclipse Stage
        • AAMP
        • The Ark
      • Lunar Octet >
        • Lunar Octet - Best of WGVU Jazz Night
        • Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1990
        • Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1991
        • Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1992
        • Live at The Ark, July 1994
        • Misc
    • Radio Broadcasts
    • Posters >
      • Lunar Glee Club
      • Lunar Octet
    • Past Musicians >
      • Lunar Glee Club
      • The Transition Band
      • Lunar Octet
      • 30th Anniversary Reunion Band
      • 32nd Anniversary Reunion Band
      • The Lunar Octet of Today
    • Historic Videos >
      • Lunar Glee Club
      • Lunar Octet
    • Photos >
      • Lunar Glee Club Portraits
      • Lunar Glee Club at Graceful Arch
      • Lunar Glee Club at Eclipse
      • Lunar Glee Club at Montreux Detroit
      • Lunar Glee Club at Mr. Flood's Party
      • The Transition Band
      • Lunar Octet Portraits
      • Lunar Octet at Montreux Detroit
      • Lunar Octet Outside the Del Rio
      • Lunar Octet - mid-1990s
      • 30th Reunion Photos
      • California Tour 2018
    • CD Reviews >
      • Lunar Glee Club
      • Lunar Octet
    • Press Coverage
Picture
Picture


Buy "Highway Fun" at amazon.com




All Music Guide Review of Highway Fun

Facing shifting personnel over ten years of gigging based in the Ann Arbor/Detroit metro area, this group finally gets their debut recording of backlogged original music out. It's an interesting jazz/funk/rock/latin mix, driven by the drumming of leader Jon Krosnick, percussionist Dave Mason and principal writer/saxophonist Steve Hiltner. 


Trumpeter and flugelhornist Brandon Cooper establishes some high points with his bold, impassioned Freddie Hubbard-like solos, Toledo keyboardist Mark Kieswetter sets a contemporary tone on electrified pianos; electric bass guitarist David Stearns and conga player Aron Kaufman supplement Krosnick's steady beat; and guitarist Sam Clark adds a touch of serenity or psychedelia when called on. 


The group starts on the title track penned by Kaufman and former bassist Dan Ladin, with polyphony reminiscent of a traffic jam. Honking horns, screeching tires and zooming dragsters introduce a rocking R&B-ish horn chart, with a cool guitar solo from Clark. "Into the Wave," written by Mason, resembles the dramatic entrance of Zorro prior to a samba-swaddled swordfight scene, and Clark's "Moose & Squirrel" is a highlight, a fast, funky cartoon chase with the horns as Rocky and Clark's guitar as the doubting Bullwinkle. 


Stearns wrote the poignant "Cycle," which shifts from a 5/4 ostinato with bass and electric keys to lilting 5/4 and 6/8 phrases buoyed by a potent flugelhorn solo from Cooper. The rest are Hiltner's babies. His "Bird of Paradox" pits different melodic sections tacked onto a clave bridge for trumpet and percussion solos, complex and skilled writing for sure. "Toot Suite" has Hiltner and Cooper in clarion mode informing a three-note jazz melody as a springboard for Cooper's growling solo, followed by a strong alto solo. 


Hiltner's depth and vision as a writer are further demonstrated on tunes like the funk-lite/swing "Flugel Tune," the swinging, strongly melodic '50s post-boppish "Cruisin'," the punchy, popping horns of the quick, bright samba "Yes, Yes, Yes," and the spacy, miminalist "All in a Day's Dream." "Dream" features Kieswetter's haunting, electrified, angelic-sounding repeated chords as a foundation for Hiltner's cloud-hopping alto and Cooper's immediately following brass, leading to a brief 6/8, more Latin section and a fine extended solo from Stearns. 


The Lunar Octet covers a lot of ground, not comprehensive in the jazz idiom, but they've got the modern music traditions of the past 40 years blanketed in a very enjoyable, universally acceptable fashion. Hopefully this is the tip of the iceberg, with more joyous music to follow.


- Michael G. Nastos