Somnambule - Writing About Music

Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing with Joe McPhee ~ Sounds Like A Sandwich

The Thing is a three-headed monster of a power jazz trio and Cato Salsa Experience are their favourite rock band. Factor in veteran saxophonist Joe McPhee and you've quite a party on your hands. With a total of five tracks clocking in at 19 minutes and 51 seconds Sounds Like A Sandwich is more EP than LP. However, it manages to pack more into its brief span than many much longer recordings. The octet play a ragged blend of rock and jazz that might upset only the most hardcore fan of either genre. Bookended by a couple of Cato Salsa originals are covers of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, Don Ayler’s Our Prayer and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Art Star. The overlap between blues, rock and jazz is clear, so it makes surprisingly obvious sense for Whole Lotta Love to host a free jazz passage at its centre. Sounds Like A Sandwich is a highly enjoyable exercise in bravado, exuberance and sheer fun.
Colin Buttimer
May 2005
Published by Jazzwise magazine