Moon Hooch Live in Vienne, France

Moon Hooch is a group whose sound once blared in New York subway stations and in parks. It isn't a sound that blends in, and would have dramatically changed those public environments. Indeed, they stopped busking after an NYPD public order hazard warning and moved to illegal raves instead. It is easy to see why – the founding members, Wenzl McGowen, Michael Wilbur, both wield their saxophones with a freedom normally reserved for rock 'n' roll frontmen: they jump on stage and encourage abandon in audiences, sometimes adorning their instruments with odd implements like traffic cones to augment the fire and the ferocity. Here, they tour with drummer James Muschler, who is fully committed to their infectious, uncompromising nu-jazz vibes. 

Yet it is their sound that stays with you, which is as physical as their movements and plunges the listener into a vortex of muscular, colorful and chaotic soundscapes. Here, on the Jazz à Vienne stage, their presence is backlit by an appropriately raucous light show and they stick to their mission statement: "We want our shows to be crazy dance parties." Moon Hooch represents a raw and joyful strain of contemporary jazz which some have categorized as "acoustic techno." However, their personas bely hard-earned musicianship and, since the beginning, jazz has been driven by deep collective expression, regardless of whether it is sombre or energetic.