Doppler Shift holds its own on blustery new CD

August 31, 2008

BY JIM DeROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC

With just enough rock aggression and rhythmic raucousness to appeal to this generally jazz-averse rockist, Doppler Shift was formed in 2004 by trumpet and trombone player Brian Niebuhr, tenor and alto saxophonist Ray Pandocchi, bassist Jon Marchese and drummer and sample artist Dave Marsalek to explore the intersection of jazz, funk, rock and experimental music at their most extreme.

The band is following in heavy footsteps in this endeavor — the Vandermark 5, George Clinton, Miles Davis and the Stooges of “Funhouse” have all aspired to the same — but it more than holds its own on “Resistor,” the group’s extremely impressive second album, released last March on the local indie IZM Records.

Pointing out that they intentionally avoid chordal instruments in order to emphasize the grooves, Doppler Shift writes that “jazz sure as s--- ain’t dead — it’s just been waiting.” You can hear what they mean via the streaming sounds at dopplershiftmusic.com and www.myspace.com/dopplershift.