| Jazz |
To celebrate their forty years of delightfully unhinged performances, the Shuffle Demons pose a question that is, in all likelihood, not truly a question at all: Are You Really Real, perhaps an address to their devoted audience, to whom this album should be seen as a form of dialogue, a conversation woven across time with those who have steadfastly followed them. Skirting the edges of free jazz yet often rooted in tradition, their music embraces spoken word as naturally as others might a cigar, an invitation to drift into their chimerical universe, where musical codes are ceaselessly blurred, rhythms are toyed with, and the whole emerges as an astonishingly intricate architecture, whose arrangements render these compositions both delectable and eminently accessible.
Though vastly different in approach, their career bears some resemblance to that of the Yellowjackets, a highly distinctive compositional style, albeit with less emphasis on brass. Thematically, however, they stand at opposite poles: Shuffle Demons revel in an entirely acoustic sound, infused with a playful sense of humor and even a faint rock sensibility. Here, then, is a band that masterfully intertwines tradition and modernity, favoring an acoustic format that lends their creations a certain timelessness. Jazz, much like the blues, has often been a medium for protest, sometimes expressed in stark clarity, at other times through intellectual provocation. In this vein, a track like Money Is My Religion stands as a centerpiece of social critique, exposing the supremacy of money over all other values.
It is a song that resonates powerfully within the fabric of contemporary Western society. Jazz has long been a form of communal protest, though its modes of dissent differ between North America and Europe; yet, at its core, the impulse remains the same. Sometimes, the mere diversity of a jazz ensemble constitutes an act of defiance against those who cling to extremist views.
The Shuffle Demons are a band made for the stage, where they come alive, electrifying their audience, provoking cheers, laughter, and exultation. The very essence of this album follows that same philosophy, making one almost forget that these are, above all, extraordinary musicians, artists who have undertaken no fewer than twenty-five tours across Canada, five in the United States, and seventeen in Europe, not to mention ventures into the Pacific, New Zealand, Africa, and beyond. And it is easy to see why, for their boundless, generous music has the power to touch all hearts.
This renowned quintet earns its place among our Indispensable Albums of March—a discovery, or rediscovery, not to be missed!
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, March 16th 2025
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