This is Sex Mob playing their version of Nirvana’s “About a Girl.” It can be found on Solid Sender, Sex Mob’s 1999 album. Sex Mob is an avante garde jazz band from New York, and they do a lot of this sort of thing—-following the jazz tradition of appropriating popular songs, but not limiting themselves to songs popular in the 1920s and ’30s.
“About a Girl” is one of my favorite Nirvana songs (especially the version on Unplugged in New York), and I really enjoy hearing it done so differently. I’m usually not a big jazz head, and what I do listen to is generally of the stride piano era, but from time to time it feels great to immerse myself in frenetic jazz like Sex Mob. Their 2001 album, Sex Mob Does Bond is all music from James Bond films, and is worth listening to. The band’s tongue is left somewhat in its cheek for the whole album, but the result is something very enjoyable.
If you find that you like modern jazz ensembles playing modern popular music, check out The Bad Plus. They have similar undertakings, my favorite of which is their version of “Iron Man,” on their 2004 album, Give. If you don’t require that your contemporary jazz be accompanied by familiar riffs, then I encourage you to dig into Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, from sunny Japan.
Sincerely,
Reverend Harris
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