Sean Noonan, Aram Bajakian - Chips
Review in All About Jazz, New York September 2003 

Matt Rand

CHiPs (as in the ‘80s television series about the California Highway Patrol) gets off to two separate starts. The first track, "CHiPs", is a hyperactive, tongue-in-cheek quickie. Aram Bajakian's guitar is steeped in over-the-top vibrato, and Sean Noonan gives his drums a real punishment. The second track is built on a slowly building repetitive figure. Noonan is subdued in the background, and Bajakian is restrained and thoughtful. 

Each of these tracks does what it does, in blissful ignorance of the other, and each is a sign of things to come later on the CD. As the disc goes on, each of the duo's styles, the fast and aggressive approach and the patient and layered approach, develop into fully realized expressions. Maybe it is because the styles are completely at odds with one another that they never meet, and the duo is always doing one or the other. 

With the layered approach, Bajakian does his best work. He comes up with haunting, airy textures that he repeats and changes. Sometimes, he loops the patterns and stacks further developments on top of them. His playing is expressive and feels like it could be the soundtrack to a walk through a middle American ghost town, except, notably, in the case of "Karaslama", which is based in Armenian folk music. When Bajakian plays without hurry, Noonan listens carefully. He lets the music speak, coaxing it along with cymbal accents and expansive beats. 

And then the two will rock out. Noonan plays better here, technically, but it does not feel as valuable as his slower work. Further, his drumming up a storm and Bajakian's playing with his effects processors adds up to a lot of treble. Fortunately, later in the CD, they are joined on the more aggressive pieces by Dan Magay on alto sax, Thierno Camara on bass and veteran Jim Pugliese on percussion. 

With a full band, the music is more sonically balanced, and the wildness of Noonan's and Bajakian's aggressive playing is rooted to a clear center. But when they settle back into patience, the sound of the two alone is what makes the disc worthwhile.
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CHIPS: Microchips, gambling chips, potato chips, a dubious ‘80s motorcycle-cop show, small flaws on a pristine surface, fragments of a disintegrating object, a subtle slice of a golf ball…

Brooklyn based drummer Sean Noonan, the engine room behind crazy free-grunge-jazz power trio The Hub, throws down some musical chips of his own, with help from an assortment of friends. Guitarist Aram Bajakian crashes in like Buckethead on a surfing holiday. It’s good to note on two tracks the presence Jim Pugliese, who still holds a special place in Downtown musical circles, bringing his accumulated wisdom to bear and mixing it with a new generation of improvisers. Fans of The Hub will welcome the contributions of Dan Magay, whilst the insatiably funky bass of Thierno Camara suggests how the trio might sound if Tim Dahl woke up one day and suddenly decided to ditch his pedals – an intriguing thought, but don’t do it just yet Tim! 

Sometimes subtle, sometimes disintegrating, sometimes a risky improvisational gamble, never pristine, more satisfying than potato chips, and unlike the soundtrack to any cop show I’ve ever seen, Chips kicks your ass, turns your head and makes you laugh. One final word of advice: if you’re listening to Chips in your car, keep checking your rear-view for approaching traffic cops…

Fred Grand
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