Exploding Customer - At Your Service

Mike Szajewski, WNUR

In their third Ayler release, the members of Exploding Customer establish themselves as a quartet with a solid grasp on the groove-oriented style of free jazz explored by many of today’s Chicago players. Ranging from slow, brooding compositions to funky, up-tempo pieces highlighted by Kjell Nordeson’s solid and often highly-energized playing, At Your Service provides a fun and fascinating listen. The glue of the quartet here seems to be Quigley, who firmly established the mood of each track, allowing Nordeson to add extra rhythmic variety excitement. Küchen’s playing takes a lot from the Vandermark school of thought, exploring the tone of the instrument while playing bluesy lines on some tracks and more introspective ones on others.