Lounge Lizards
No Pain For Cakes

The Lounge Lizards are an American experimental-jazz group, founded in 1978. They play atypical jazz, fast, engaging, and rich with brass. It is a band composed of numerous members, featuring musical presences of great caliber:

• John Lurie: Saxophonist and clarinetist, as well as the charismatic leader of the group. Also renowned in the entertainment world for his film collaborations as an actor and soundtrack author. Recently, he has also been engaged in the visual arts.
• Evan Lurie: John’s younger brother, and the talented pianist of the L.L.
• Roy Nathanson, a skilled and mustachioed saxophonist.
• Marc Ribot on guitar.
• The genius black musician Curtis Fowlkes on trombone.

(Throughout the L.L.'s long career, other musicians have also joined the stage, which always features a very rich and varied musical presence for their performances.)

"No Pain For Cakes" is an album released in 1987 (the second studio album after their 1981 self-titled debut). The band presents a rich sound, sometimes difficult and intricate, absolutely not for a first listen. Atypical and expansive jazz, with World Music influences and essentially very difficult to categorize.

The album opens with "My Trip To Ireland", which starts as energetic and powerful jazz, ending with a miscellany of sound, accompanied by John’s background screams. The second track, "No Pain For Cakes", which gives the album its title, is undoubtedly one of the most successful, featuring a syncopated rhythm of brass on a sound base marked by Evan’s piano. The result is a piece that outlines mysterious and dark atmospheres, truly fascinating. "My Clown's On Fire" is an intricate and disjointed piece, very difficult to follow, a very experimental jazz that is overall not very successful. Next is "Carry Me Out", a great track rich in brass, with a rhythm that somewhat recalls the classic American pre-war jazz of the golden era, a brief glance at the past (lasting less than two minutes). "Bob And Nico", a central album piece, is an enveloping song, a soft and playful swing, splendid. For those unaware, it's dedicated to Roberto Benigni (who was nicknamed 'Bob' in "Dounbailò" by his prison mates Waits and Lurie) and his wife Nicoletta Braschi (Nico).

Wonderful melodies also in the nocturnal "Tango #3" and the more intricate and wild "The Magic Of Palermo". Slow and suffocated is the sad melody of "Cue For Passion", where Evan's piano supports his brother’s solitary sax. The album closes with the modern and captivating rhythm of "Where Were You", where John talks over the notes, resulting almost like a 'rap' over a modern jazz melody. A great album that reconfirms the extreme quality and sonic originality of the Lounge Lizards. To be followed two years later in 1989 by "Voice Of Chunk".

It is a pity that lately, John Lurie and his immense artistic inventiveness have neglected the jazz world to fully dedicate himself to his amusing works as a painter.