The Jazzfakers: Two

Just as John Lurie didn’t set out to lampoon jazz with his “fake jazz” ensemble the Lounge Lizards, the giddy and childlike quartet known as the Jazzfakers are more about reconstructing a new language than desecrating an old one. The group’s second album Two starts with “Swift Time DNA,” which sounds like Medeski, Martin & Wood being shoved through a meat grinder. Track two, “Flying Carpet Transport,” sounds like Bill Laswell being shoved through a meat grinder. By “Kenny G Voodoo Ceremony,” I have no idea what the hell is going on but I like it. This is a shining example of how an avant-garde group uses jazz as a spring board, yet it ends up being no more or less important than dub, noise, microtones, synthesizers, and a whole lot of seemingly mismatched crap like “In Three Dimensions” that somehow coalesces into something that escapes any convenient label. Strongly recommended to those without experimental allergies.