Salzers

�We�re a bunch of outsiders who refused to be kept out,� says High Pulp drummer�Bobby Granfelt. �We�ve never had an academic approach to jazz�most of us grew up�playing in DIY bands�so it was the rawness and the energy and the absolute freedom�of the music that called to us in the first place.�

Indeed, there�s something defiant, something utterly liberating about High Pulp�s remarkable ANTI- Records debut, Pursuit of Ends. Drawing on punk rock, shoegaze, hip-hop, and electronic music, the band�s brand of experimental jazz is both vintage and�futuristic all at once, hinting at times to everything from Miles Davis and Duke Ellington�to Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. The songs here balance meticulous composition with visceral spontaneity, and the performances are nothing short of virtuosic,�fueled by raw, ecstatic horn runs ducking and weaving their way around thick bass�lines and dizzying percussion.

While the Seattle-based collective is centered around a crew of six core members,�they also make judicious use of a broad network of collaborators on the album, wrangling special guests like sax star Jaleel Shaw (Roy Haynes, Mingus Big Band), harpist�Brandee Younger (Ravi Coltrane, The Roots), GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter Theo�Coker, and keyboardist Jacob Mann (Rufus Wainwright, Louis Cole) to help stretch the�boundaries of their already-expansive sonic universe. The result is a lush, cinematic�collection that�s as unpredictable as it is engrossing, an urgent, exhilarating instrumental album that manages to speak to the moment without uttering a single word.