Jazz Worms, Squirmin’ | The Vinyl Anachronist

With a name like Jazz Worms, it has to be good. Right? I didn’t know what to think when I first saw this name, and this album title, after I opened the shipping envelope. There’s some strange jazz offshoots out there, and I get them in for review and secretly I’m thinking WTF but there’s a part of me that’s still grateful to hear something kooky once in a while, like a big band that concentrates on themes from Saturday morning cartoons or piano trio that features an old-fashioned toy piano. Jazz Worms? If you say so. And then I listened to this familiar yet skilled be-bop, the way these guys play jazz like the old legends, the ones who didn’t mind the rough edges. There is a story behind Squirmin’ from the Jazz Worms, and it doesn’t even concern the origin of their name. This is their follow up to their debut album, Crawling Out. That album came out–get this–in 1987. Yes, these guys haven’t recorded together in 34 years. That’s a good story, right? Okay, let’s get it out of the way. The Jazz Worms get their name because the members are pianist Andy Weyl, sax player Keith […]