An exquisite delight from Michael Kazalski. Taking his natural role as a funk bassist on ‘Cheap’, Kazalski gives us one of his most musically involved and entertaining numbers. With a wealth of textures, tones, and sonic characters, ‘Cheap’ pans out everything but.
The eccentric Portsmouth, Virginia-based bassist and musician Michael Kazalski manages to effortlessly capture my imagination with his rich and nuanced arrangements. On ‘Cheap’, Kazalski opens up with a groovy bass riff that soon gets followed by drums and an army of organs that do a fantastic job in painting the funk part of the painting.
‘Cheap’ is a terrific bit of fun. The playful pace and stylish, cinematic riffs, accompanied by a litany of organ solos that are intricately arranged to involve the beat and bass into the fun, and all crowned by Kazalski’s heartwarming and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, ‘Cheap’ is just a blast to listen to. The musically compelling flow of the lyrics of ‘Cheap’ make it such an earworm, and the repetition of the song’s core section while solos and instrumental cues rip all over the top was never boring or overdone for a single moment. In particular the solos that happen after the second chorus are what pinned me down. Thoroughly smart song building and a fantastic ear for pacing.
Michael Kazalski’s ‘Cheap’ introduces yet another face to this multi-faceted and talented musician who seemingly avoids genre boundaries like the plague. Instead, reveling in them all at once, giving us experimental gems like this one.
