Jam Band Quintet Big Into Spirituality
Musician C Lanzbom returned to New York after several years in Israel with something far more interesting. "I got a Middle Eastern groove thing. When I got home, I realized it was in my bones," Lanzbom said.
That groove runs deep through the music of Inasense, a jam band born in Israel when Lanzbom met guitarist and singer Noah Chase there in the late 1980's. The duo realized their stock would probably do better in the United States, and both came to New York City in 1991 to whip up the band, which is now a quintet.
After developing a following with its improvisational sound and spiritual lyrics, Inasense is charting new territories. The band will appear Thursday at the Expresso Bar, 70 James Street, Worchester. Doors at the all ages club open at 7pm. Inasense's kibbutz rock goes back to the early 80's when Lanzbom studied music with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. "When I was living in Manhattan, I heard about this far out rabbi that everyone said I should check out. He passed away a couple of years ago, but he was a real battery charger for people like me," Lanzbom said. "He was known as the hippie rabbi at one point in his career."
Lanzbom stayed in touch with the hippie rabbi, which led to Carlebach paying for the then 18 year-old musician's trip to study music and religion. Lanzbom performed with Carlebach for several years before settling down in a community where Chase was living. Chase was born in California and moved with his family to Israel when he was 3. Lanzbom and Chase together weave nice vocal tapestries and heady guitar duels. But it's not exactly married to the tradition of the Allman Brothers Band or the Grateful Dead. "Spirituality is subtext of who we are. It's a personal thing in our lives, but it gives our music a depth and meaning," Lanzbom said.
Inasense's first album for Ripe Records plus Lanzbom's solo album and the band's new live recording both for Desert Rock Records, all pay homage to Carlebach with a cover of something he wrote. After that, the band's embrace of Orthodox Judaism is filtered through stories and lessons presented in more conventional song lyrics. Lanzbom said he doesn't want Inasense to be a bludgeon for any one religious belief, though he hopes that the band is a worthy vehicle for anyone's spiritual requests.
A collection of five songs recorded live is the band's latest release (called simply "Live!EP") and casts Inasense in a buoyant light. There's a snappy pacing to much of it, seemingly informed by bluegrass, though not really sounding too much like the high lonesome sound. The playing is tighter than you find in the jam band circuit.
"I try not to ally the band with the psychedelic jam scene anymore because then we get pigeon headed," Lanzbom said. "I am coming from a place of spontaneity and improvisation. I think what really we are doing comes under the pretext of jazz and classical. Our voice is unique, but it will get normal after some time has passed."
-Scott McLennan
Telegram and Gazette (Worchester, MA), 10/7/97
Photos and knickknacks are what most people bring home with them after traveling abroad.
Psychedelic Jam Band's Powerful Inasense
The four-man band - Noah Solomon Chase, C Lanzbom, Jay Welssman and Mark Ambrosino - opened late with an extended, up-beat Middle Eastern instrumental.
Constantly in the groove, lead singer Mr. Chase danced around in the vacant space between the drum set and the microphones as he strummed away at his guitar.
Before making the transition to Bob Dylan's "Tangled up in Blue," Mr. Chase invited the audience of about 25 people to get up and dance even though "I know there are only a few of you."
"It's tough," Mr. Chase said about playing for such a small crowd, "but we're trying to connect with each other and have a good time. It's actually good practice if you can keep up the energy level with such a small crowd."
The band is full of deep-rooted heritage and extraordinary talent, but its sound is hard to pin down because no song is like any other. Mr. Chase dubs it "Rusted Root meets the Allman Brothers."
It all started when Mr. Chase and Mr. Lanzbom, two American Jews, met as preteens in Israel. They lost touch for a while and joined other bands, but reunited soon after they jammed one night together at a party in 1989.
"I was blown away by the unique, innocent quality of his voice," Mr. Lanzbom said about Mr. Chase.
Mr. Chase has not only an innocent voice but also a graceful stage presence. Mr. Lanzbom, on the other hand, is an incredible master of the guitar - and he's not to shabby when he sings lead, either.
While some of their songs are in Hebrew, reflecting their deep spiritual heritage, they said that they could not branch out in Israel. Seems the American public is much more receptive to the group's variety.
In 1991, the pair moved to New York and officially became the core of Inasense, with a revolving line-up of band mates.
"Originally, Inasense appealed to the Jewish crowds," said Tamir Gutman, the band's merchandiser, "but now that's changing."
The group clearly has been influenced by Mr. Dylan, Van Morrison and the Grateful Dead.
Despite the small turnout, Mr. Lanzbom said the band "hopes to come back regularly to the Bayou and develop a following."
With its harmonic, sentimental hippie melodies and funk-style instrumentals, this psychedelic jam band is poised to collect a large following. Catch the group the next time around.
-Natasha Marinoff
The Washington Times, 7/13/97
The incense smoking along the perimeter of the stage added to the tranquil atmosphere as New York based Inasense played the Bayou on Thursday night.