May 2008

Ila Cantor
Mother Nebula
Fresh Sound New Talent

By Forrest Dylan Bryant

With an attractively quirky attitude and a freewheeling blend of jazz and rock elements, guitarist Ila Cantor’s quartet keeps the listener guessing. Careening through an all-original program of chunky sci-fi anthems, squealing high-speed collisions and delicately crafted downtempo numbers, Cantor sets up catchy rhythmic patterns and launches lines skyward, flaring like Roman candles. Saxophonist Frederick Carlquist parries with quick honking bursts or joins in soft-edged reveries, as Cantor carves out a uniquely personal and engaging niche somewhere between slashing aggression and brooding melancholy.