Ball of Wax 35 Songs: Aram Bajakian – “Medicaid Lullaby”

Aram Bajakian is quite the get for Ball of Wax. Not only has the New York-based guitarist played with the likes of Lou Reed, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Yusef Lateef, John Zorn, Nels Cline, and Diana Krall, but he’s also just released a solo record called There Were Flowers Also in Hell that’s garnered acclaim from places like the Free Jazz Blog (which I recommend you all bookmark). “Medicaid Lullaby,” also found on There Were Flowers Also in Hell, won me over from the first note. Bajakian begins the meditative instrumental piece with a weeping Ebow figure, then introduces touches of drums and bass that gently assert themselves until the last minute or so when the overall intensity and volume ramps up. “Medicaid Lullaby” is more a lament than a lullaby, with a snaking modal figure that has the half-step/whole-step/half-step sound of an eastern scale and evokes grief and the gnashing of teeth. I guess a dirge is a form of a love song. I hope that “Medicaid Lullaby” kicks off a wave of urban avant-jazz pieces being submitted to the proverbial grooves of Ball of Wax and Bajakian’s ambitious, accomplished work draws other Zorn-loving musicians to our digital shores.