Photo Credit: Jasper Fell-Clark

The kazoo is an under-utilized instrument in the world of serious music. Simply imagining the possibility of Kathleen Battle singing Mein Herr Marquis from Die Fledermaus over a kazoo would be sacrilegious. That ludicrous over-layer of anatine vocalization seems destined for nothing more than comedic effects. Not that millions of youtube videos have not attempted, but what really would happen if your music is strewn through with kazoo?

There is, truthfully, only scant use of duck sounds to link passages here. And as time goes on, while still recognizably duck in essence, they evolve into more rounded individuals worthy of holding our attention. I have no idea whether any of the ducks above are even at all tangentially related to the sounds mixed into those of Essex’s 19 yr-old multi-instrumentalist Sam Eagle. As in some of his other tracks such as 15/8, Whistleblower (again, I caution, no credibly established relation to kazoos), Eagle channels a much faster, lighter, more care-free and jazzy version of Nick Hakim. But just like the latter, I find this is no longer about hitting structures or fulfilling hooks, but more about the sonic journey. I had no idea I would have a new found respect for ducks just by listening to indie jazz. I also have no idea why my head is quickly up to the wazoo in images of a certain stern-eyed blue puppet. Good tunes. But wrong bird, wrong bird.

Sam Eagle will be showcased at SXSW 2019; venues TBD.