John Czajkowski

John Czajkowski mySpace



West ZooOpolis with Marco

Minnemann is an ambitious

new project with the über-talented German drummer, known for his

breathtaking “interdependent ostinati” and heavy polyrhythmic grooves.

Five different composers are each writing and recording music around an

extraordinary 52 minute improvised drum performance called Normalizer

2. Trey Gunn, Mike Keneally, Alex Machacek, Mario Brinkman, Phi Yaan-Zek, Marco, and

John will each contribute

their own unique compositional approach. John's production team

includes Kevin Freeby on bass and

is called West ZooOpolis.

Additional guests on John's team include Chris Taylor.



Hectic

Watermelon is a new "Post-Zappa Commando-Fusion" band from

San Diego-Los Angeles comprised of John

Czajkowski on guitars, Darren DeBree on drums, and Harley Magsino on

bass. The late 2006 album, The

Great America Road Trip, featuring Jerry Goodman (of Mahavishnu

Orchestra and Dixie Dregs) is available at  Abstract

Logix and other stores and received a NUMBER ONE RANKING in the UK

Jazzwise

Alternative Jazz College Charts!



Czajkowski tours the American landscape by orchestrating a tour of the music that grows there. He’s a monster guitarist with a metal carapace and a creamy jazz center, sprouting hydra heads of classical picking, insinuating slide, and even a particularly funky banjo.



    - Scott Johnson



Every so often, an album like Hectic

Watermelon’s The Great

American Road Trip comes

along to give me hope that jazz-rock fusion hasn’t collapsed like a

poorly-made soufflé under the weight of its own clichés."



    - Reviewed by Dave

Wayne at Jazz Review



"John McLaughlin’s influence is felt

throughout the album, but Frank

Zappa is also quite present—not in Czajkowski’s guitar playing, but in

his witty writing and sense of humor. Both entertaining and technically

impressive, The Great American Road Trip has enough jazz to titillate

fusion fans, enough complexity to please the progressively inclined,

but most of all (and despite the above statements about Zappa and

McLaughlin) it has its own endearing personality. And that, more than

anything else is what makes it such a strong debut album. Highly

recommended."    

 -

Reviewed by François Couture for the All Music Guide



"A tour de force, (The Great

American Road Trip) showcases his dazzling

fretwork, contrapuntal ingenuity and impeccable ensemble playing with

bassist Harley Magsino and drummer Darren Debree (violinist Goodman is

featured on nine of the album's 11 selections).a virtuoso fusion

band…a fleet-fingered guitarist and composer…intricate compositions

(that) blend elements of fusion jazz, prog-rock, funk and contemporary

classical."    

-  By George

Varga  POP MUSIC

CRITIC  San Diego

Union-Tribune 



"I absolutely

love when an obscure band comes seemingly out from nowhere to kick my

behind. Coming at you with a high tech, ultra dense progressive fusion

attack, this Navy SEAL-led band has all the talent and imagination

(for) the hardest core fusion heads anywhere. And they don't just

appeal to that genre, this music has such a unique sound and the

players are outrageously gifted, that progressive rock fans that have a

flair for instrumental adventure will find more than enough to appeal

to their senses."

   

- MJBrady 

Prognosis



"With so much competition in the

marketplace, musicians can find it

difficult to make an original musical statement that separates them

from the pack. Not everyone will be a true innovator. But there are

musician’s who take their influences, add healthy doses of their own

unique talent, and manage to push the musical envelope with their

creativity. The music on The Great American Road Trip by Hectic

Watermelon is a very good example of that process."

   

- Rod Sibley 

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