Search - Ken Nordine :: Upper Limbo

The Emperor Of Ice Cream

Robert I. Hedges | 07/30/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Upper Limbo" is one CD in an enormous body of work by the original creator of "Word Jazz", Ken Nordine. Nordine has an unbelievably deep, sonorous voice, and a sound like no other. These recordings were made at live engagements in 1992 and 1993 after he had fallen into the Grateful Dead's creative circle. For those of you who are familiar with Nordine's work, these are relatively short (two to seven minutes long each) free-form pieces full of interesting wordplay and stream-of-consciousness surrealism.



Some of the tracks are more captivating than others, and are not as uniformly excellent as on some of his other CDs, but still worthwhile for any Nordine fan, any fan of jazz or poetry, or really anybody with a sightly strange sense of humor. My favorites on the CD include the pointedly ridiculous "Emperor of Ice Cream", the ethereal "Speck of Dust", and the absolutely wonderful "Alphabet/Numbers", which includes an explanation of the design of the alphabet and numbers with wonderful lines like "M is a V holding on with both hands around 11 waiting for lunch".



This CD is decidedly not for everyone, but for the people inclined to enjoy Nordine and his bizarre musings, "Upper Limbo" is a solid effort and well worth exploring."