Ball of Wax 68 Songs: The Vardaman Ensemble – “Twilight Blue”

What happens if you throw This Heat and Chico Hamilton into a mixer, shake vigorously, and serve to a spirited group of musicians wielding drums, guitars, bass, french horn, trumpet, and other assorted instrumental oddities? Our Portlandian pals the Vardaman Ensemble have submitted the results of this experiment in the form of “Twilight Blue,” a delightful jaunt that merges jazz, proto-post-rock, and other experimental weirdnesses into a surprisingly tuneful and cohesive whole – which, now that I think of it, might not have been out of place earlier on in Can’s fictional set at that fictional German beer hall from a few reviews back.