Magically Delicious is a group of musicians based in Columbus, Ohio that was formed by bassist Andy Woodson. The band focuses on the arrangements and in particular the original compositions of the members. Michael Cox and Kris Keith form the front line on various woodwinds ( including bass clarinet and alto flute), while Andy Woodson and Tony McClung lay down acousic bass and drums.
Reviews:
Jazz Review.com,Edward Blanco
"A self-titled, self-produced new album from bassist Andy Woodson’s group, Magically Delicious, contains fourteen tracks of new originals and uncommon standards played in a straight-ahead jazz style with a twist. In a departure from the standard jazz album, the CD also includes some non-jazz tunes like the Lennon and McCartney “Dear Prudence,” and the rock-based Frank Zappa “Medley # 1.” Nevertheless, this is by and large a jazz project featuring music from jazz giants like Thelonious Monk, (“Off Minor”,) Charles Mingus (“Reincarnation of A Love Bird,") and Joe Henderson’s “Isotope.”
My favorite piece of music here has to be the thundering Clifford Brown opener “Daahoud,” which comes across as a very lively up-tempo tune that sets the pace for the entire album. As one listens to the music you can’t help but get the impression that the players were having one heck of a good time in the studio. It’s simply a fun recording to hear.
Aside from bassist Woodson, the quartet consist of a couple of multi reed men with Michael Cox (tenor, alto, soprano and bass clarinet) and Kris Keith (flute, tenor, baritone and soprano) backed up by drummer Tony McClung. Together the group plays tight arrangements and produce an entertaining session of music with Magically Delicious."
The Short North Gazette- June 2006
"Woodson’s powerful, lyrical upright bass drives, inspires, and underpins every selection on this diverse and swinging session. It’s highlighted by an unusual pianoless quartet, featuring saxmen Michael Cox and Kris Keith who bring bass clarinet and flutes to their arsenal, while Tony McClung provides the fire and punch on drums, electronic percussion, and banjo. With instrumentation and a lineup like that, you know from the start you’re not gonna be hearing warmed-over incarnations of too-often-recorded jazz standards.
Excitingly new interpretations on semi-familiar compositions by such well-known composers as Charles Mingus, Lennon-McCartney, Joe Henderson, Clifford Brown, and Thelonious Monk are augmented by never-before-heard originals by Woodson, Cox, Keith, and McClung."
-Fritz the Nite Owl
The Other Paper - May,2006
I heard Magically Delicious in its natal stage when the 5:01 club was still up and running. They were something different, and they still are. Since then, they've refined their book-and their execution of it. And they've finally documented a hefty chunk of it in their nifty self-titled CD.
The guitarless and keyboardless band features two horn players, Michael Cox and Kris Keith, among the best of our local reed/woodwind guys. On this release, their collection of saxes, bass clarinet ( Cox) and flute (Keith) makes for a fine spectrum of breathy sonorities. The stereo imaging makes it easy to place Cox (left) and Keith (right). For MD's gigs, and for this release, leader Andy Woodson trades his electric bass for some brilliant standup.
Varying widely in tempo and mood,the repertoire ranges from Beatles covers ("Dear Prudence") to Zappa ("Medley #1") and some well known- like Monk's "Off Minor"- and some less so, like Caetano Veloso's "Minha Voz, Minha Vida."
Clifford Brown's neatly turned standard "Daahoud" opens, followed by a whole 'nother thing-"Guzzle", by gutbucket avantist Joey Baron, the kind of piece where down-home gets blindsided by out-there. It begs for the snarl of Keith's baritone and gets it.
The band's effort on the leisure sonorities of Joe Henderson's "Isotope" and the Mingus tune "Reincarnation of a Lovebird" are defined by their horn interplay. Keith and Cox sometimes ramble forward with charmingly calculated clumsiness, one stepping on the other's heels as they go.
On "Birds and Bees", bass clarinet and soprano sax have a droll conversation. In fact, call-and-response exchanges between horns make some of the most effective music on this release.
"Dear Prudence" features a heady display of Keith's flute chops. Instead of lurking in the background, Woodson's well-miked bass participates as one of four equal voices.
The bucolic and beautiful "Gulch" conjures up the kind of pastoral huckleberry patch scene that Woodson likes. The horns lay down the theme gorgeously. And drummer Tony McClung plucks dolorously but appropriately on banjo.
Is the Zappa medley, with it's bird calls and the sound of breaking glass, subversive or wacky kiddy music? Don't ask me-but MD plays it splendidly.
I associate "Terra Bina Kia Jeena" with Tongue in Groove, another piano-less band, which also has a Joey Baron connection. Everybody eventually drops out on this track, and the music fades to black to the quiet sounds of McClung's laid-back drumming.
The CD closes with "Sleeping Giant", another example of Woodson's pastoralism.
I suppose the band's name came from the breakfast food touted by its leprechaun spokesman as "magically delicious." The magic, according to a university study, comes from the sugars and chemical additives. Whatever. This release has the right chemistry.
-Lee Brown
The Columbus Dispatch-4/13/06
"Central Ohio bassist Andy Woodson has a knack for surrounding himself with terrific musicians. Magically Delicious is a case in point, a killer group that performs a nicely varied set of rock-solid jazz standards and covers as well as a couple of impressive originals.
The group's self-titled, self-produced album contains durable tunes (Clifford Brown's "Daahoud" and Thelonious Monk's "Off Minor"), rarer material (Joe Henderson's "Isotope") and originals by Cox ("1898 Hymn"), McClung ("Birds and Bees"), Keith ( "Mood Swings"), and Woodson ("Sleeping Giant").
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