KOHOUTEK "HAIR ON THE SIDEWALK" DVD

a review from The Washington Post 11/26/06

by Mark Jenkins

Recorded live in Philadelphia last year, Kohoutek's "Hair on the Sidewalk" is not exactly representative of the D.C. quartet. No one release could be, as the band's music is improvised. But this package, which pairs a CD with a DVD, captures a particularly uncharacteristic performance, since it's one that includes a vocalist. Jim Brophy talks and occasionally sings, sometimes inspired by the projections (which can seen on the DVD version). The music burbles or throbs during the vocal parts, but the group -- especially guitarist Luke Wyatt -- periodically asserts itself. Though the result is sufficiently free-form to be termed jazz rock, the rhythms, timbres and aesthetic are decidedly punk.