

Photo credit: no publishing information available.Įvery once in a while, an artist comes along who gets so caught up in the sweep of history that the world seems to create itself for the artist's work, rather than the other way around. #WKCR #JazzAlternatives #LastExit #DonMcKenzie #DeepFocus #MitchGoldman #PeterBrotzmann #SonnySharrock #BillLaswell #RonaldShannonJackson #JazzRockFusion #NoWave Catch it on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at . This will be especially well borne out by the unreleased live recordings to be presented on Monday night, music the world has almost never heard.ĭrummer Don McKenzie, well-known for his playing with Elliot Sharp, Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid and Roswell Rudd among many, many others, brings special insight into this ensemble, so often discussed but so seldom brought to light. A quarter century later, however, when the swagger of the music's creators has been set aside, what emerges is magnificent improvisation (they never rehearsed) with glistening shards of beauty from each of the composer/bandleader members. Greg Kot wrote that they brought a level of "volume and violence that makes most rock bands sound tame." Although Last Exit left a mere handful of recordings and made only limited tour dates, they left a reputation for scorched earth dazzled, sputtering listeners and no apologies. The band was known for its uncompromising musical ferocity, fueled by the band members' confrontational attitudes. This Monday night on Jazz Alternatives, Mitch Goldman welcomes drummer Don McKenzie back to the studio for a very special Deep Focus on the supergroup Last Exit (Peter Brotzmann, Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson), a rebroadcast from 2015.
