Seattle guitarist Andrew Boscardin’s 12-piece Zubatto Syndicate is a band alright, and it’s bigger than most, but any similarity to a traditional big band is entirely coincidental.

The clue is in the band's material: alongside the guitarist's own ironic TV-theme-style compositions, there are readings here of Metallica's Master of Puppets and a medley of recent Beyoncé hits.

Jazz musicians have been co-opting material from popular music since the very beginning, but there’s something curiously unsettling about the way Boscardin’s charts take the slightness of these non-melodies so seriously.

Fans of big band music may want for more, you know, music, but for the open of mind and the weary of ear, here’s some fresh-sounding post-jazz from a galaxy far, far away.

zubattosyndicate.com