Biography

kwyjibo kwee-jee-bo n. 1 : a bald, overweight, North American ape of below average intelligence. 2 a : an electric jazz ensemble from Midwestern North America b : a musical ensemble consisting of electric guitar, electric bass guitar, chapman stick, drumset, and saxophones all played by one or more kwyjibos. 3 : a musical ensemble formed in the early twenty first century which plays original, electric jazz as well as the music of the mid to late twentieth century Jazz Fusion kwyjibo. 4 : The trance-like state of mind which one enters when listening to the music of the kwyjibo as in Whoa dude, I just had a kwyjibo!

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What is Kwyjibo? The liner notes provide a quick definition. A kwyjibo is a big, dumb balding North American ape, with no short chin and a balding temper. Sounds like a description of the president of one of those oil companies. You know, the guy who appeared on TV to explain away their record profits of ten billion dollars during the hurricanes that hit this fall, as having nothing to do with gouging and artificially created shortages. OK. All that is topic for some other kind of review. In any case, none of the musicians in the group appear to be kwyjibos in the dictionary definition sense of the word. But, their own definition fits perfectly: an electric jazz ensemble from Midwestern North America.

This energetic fusion ensemble is led by the superb guitarist Peter Kienle (who happens to be married to another superb musician, pianist Monika Herzig). Kienle has led or appeared on other albums on the family and artist-owned independent label, Acme Records.

The energetic fusion ensemble opens the set with a hip-shaking, Sign Broken, Come in for Message. Move your body to music. Joe Donnelly states the theme on tenor sax, with Kienles harmonic and melodic support. The piece changes hue from the backbeat beginnings to a freer, lighter section, and then returns to an intense backbeat groove for solos. Donnelly turns in a moving solo, before a brief ending.

Alices Cool B***s is a title that probably refers to a secret sensory understanding that we listeners can only imagine. The musics accessibility is antithetical to the obscurity of the title. Thankfully! Drummer Danny Deckard and bassist Matt Everhart create a powerful 6/8 backbeat groove. Donnelly switches to baritone sax, and turns in a well-crafted solo.

Kienle takes center stage on I Cant See Your House From Here. The tempo a laid back, straight eighth rock-funk groove, if an identification tag can be put on it. Kienle takes the first solo. Extracting a broad canvass of sounds from his string array (guitar, Chapman stick) he crafts a beautifully apropos improvisation. Expectedly! He is both the composeron all but one of the tunes on The Rise of Kwyjiboand a superb guitarist with a impressively honed set of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic skills, tempered by a sensitive use of space and timing.

Two of Kienles tunesGeorgia Beyond The Blue Event Horizon and Suburban Stardustare inspired by Hoagy Carmichael, one of the great composers of songs that have become Great American Standards. If youre not a musician, youll have to listen carefully to hear the Georgia of Hoagy Carmichael obscured within the melody of Kienles Georgia Beyond The Blue Event Horizon. Its an eye-openingactually, ear-openingrecasting of Carmichaels ideas. Not what youd expect. And, thats good. Kienle on guitar and Donnelly on baritone are stylistically in sync with the genre of the music they are creating here.

Kwyjibo has assembled an interesting set with ample variety. Following the varied grooves of the first several tracks, Maximum Overlap is subdued. Restrained. The dark sounds of the music, led by the expressive tenor sax, serves up reminiscences of a film noir, or the lonely rainy night of a TV detective. Peters Party Pooper is a kind of boogaloo groove, on modified blues changes. Kienle comps beautifully in support of Donnellys excursions on tenor sax, and serves up a delightfully electric solo himselfin terms of sound, energy and style.

This release showcases the excellent composing and performing skills of guitarist Kienle, and the sound quality is excellent. I enjoyed listening through the entire album, which I felt took me on a intriguing journey of passion and thought.

Clive Griffin, JazzImprov Magazine, Vol 6 Number 2, February 2006