Heretic Blues
As a timekeeper, drummer Kevin O'Donnell's done a fine job for one-timeSquirrel Nut ZippersmemberAndrew Bird's Bowl of Fire. Taking the Bird-Bowl lineup that decked the ears withOh! The Grandeurand augmenting it with trombonist David Dieckmann and saxophonist Chris Greene on the front line, O'Donnell's put together a great swinging ensemble with his Quality Six.Heretic Bluesshows the band's ace-in-the-hole languidity on numbers like the warhorse "Moten Swing" as well as nine of the drummer's compositions. Bird's vocals mark most tracks with a slurry calm, an easy sashay that places O'Donnell and company in line with a Kansas City swing tradition. It would be too easy to trace this offshoot of the neo-swing movement back to Squirrel Nut Zippers, especially since O'Donnell, Bird, and their collaborators have a different, more jazzy sense of the music. It's a good thing, too.--Andrew Bartlett