Mouth

Word of Mouth, Volume 1

Kansas City band Mouth combines the elements of guitar, bass and drums to form a delectable musical stew in Word of Mouth, Volume 1. The band adds the fresh spices of jazz, funk, dance and hip hop to create an eclectic mix.

Much of the band’s freshness comes with its ability to improvise, a cornerstone of any successful jazz musician or group. Of the album’s 11 tracks, seven were improvised. While artists of other genres are limited to confined structures and forms, exceptional jazz musicians allow themselves to be malleable. They’re free from time signatures and chord structures but can flip back to a rigid chorus as a counterbalance.

Mouth does this from start to finish. It puts stellar musicianship at the forefront of its debut, capturing live recordings from local shows that represent its first four months as a band.

Each member gets his time to shine in every song. Bassist Zach Rizer takes on the tough task of providing both rhythm and melody in the lead-off track, “I’m a Doctor.” Impressively high, piercing bass lines and even chords overtake the quieter but complementary guitar and drums.

Jeremy Anderson’s murky guitar sets a trippy, dancey tone in “Beepilepsy.” The song’s focus is less jazzy and more of a sedate dance-hall groove, thanks to a repeating guitar-riff cycle and pulsating background rhythms.

Drummer Stephen Gunn shows his skills in “Jackpot Jam,” starting strong with marching snare rolls and shifting to a mix of straightforward, syncopated beats. The drum-driven tune unfolds into an elaborate yet improvised attack, coming from all sides of the talented trio. The ingredients of counterpoint melodies and offset rhythms bounce off each other, coming together in a funky frenzy.

Word of Mouth, Volume 1 represents a group of skilled musicians with the ability to develop a tight, collective unit and create an unrestricted place to showcase their strong individual talents.

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infobox-hr-separator /> infobox-head>Find it
Grab Word of Mouth, Volume 1 at shows, or contact Mouth through the band’s MySpace or Facebook pages.

See them Catch them as they provide live beats for Reach, The Phantom, Dutch Newman, Godson and Swazorbladez at 9 p.m. Friday at Scion Lab, on Oak Street between 18th and 19th streets. Cover for the 18-and-over show is $5.