"Constant stimulation is the name of the game on Junk Wagon. Trumpeter/composer John Daversa delivers nine pieces that reflect the hustle and bustle of today's world, without resorting to any big band clichés of yore.
Each composition, with the exception of the balladic "Most Of All," is a stylistic hybrid, where scattershot elements and shifting ideas make for a fascinating and unpredictable musical journey. Daversa's fearless exploration of the large group format takes him off the beaten path, as he creates bold and ballsy big band music for the modern epoch.
"The Bridge (Part 1)" serves as Daversa's opening salvo, where shredding guitar work, walls of harmonic sound, funky bass lines, rocking drums, frolicking upper winds, rap-like vocalizations from Katisse Buckingham, and punchy sound fragments come together to create the first of many wild rides. Daversa's big band writing is certainly busier than most, but information overload is rarely a concern. He pushes the limits, as amply demonstrated by his audacious EVI (Electric Valve Instrument) playing, but he's also cognizant of what those limits are. Trying to absorb everything that happens during some of these mile-a-minute numbers is impossible at first, but that's part of the power of this music. Repeated listening helps to reveal new wonders that initially whiz by at lightning speed, making them impossible to notice."
(DAN BILAWSKY allaboutjazz.com )
