Ever since The Bad Plus attracted way more attention than most of their contemporaries could ever dream of over a decade ago with their cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the unexpected cover has been the surest way for a jazz act to garner buzz outside of the usual jazz circles. That's proven to be both a blessing and a curse for the genre. While it's introduced new listeners to a form that very much needs fresh ears, it's also encouraged enough shticky covers to fill an entire iPod. When they're done well, though, these covers can still be a beautiful thing, as the Jamie Breiwick Quartet demonstrate on their latest LP, Spirits. The disc includes covers of Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," which has become something of a signature song for the Milwaukee quartet, who plays it like it's an old Blue Note standard, as well as a fittingly wild rendition of Radiohead's "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box." And if the download-only bonus cover of Britney Spears' "Till The World Ends" is a little bit goofy, it's also very fun, an earned romp from an ensemble that otherwise plays their bop-revival with stately poise.
The whole LP is streaming online where pretty much everything streams these days, on Bandcamp, ahead of the quartet's album release party at the Jazz Estate Saturday, May 4. Stream it below.
