This band have been my fave for like the last three months and my love for them has not waned. You may have seen the viral video on Facebook, of Too Many Zooz's saxophonist and drummer busking on a New York subway platform (if you haven't you need to). That was where I first encountered them; turns out there's also a trumpet player and two full albums available on Spotify!
Too Many Zooz play music like I've never heard before. Most of it is instrumental, athough they enlisted a number of guest vocalists to rap on a few tracks on their album Subway Gawdz. Sometimes they invoke Latin brass music, reminiscent of the Dexter soundtrack; other times you can definitely hear a heavy jazz influence; but the off key trumpet sections and dramatic crescendos make me think more of contemporary drum and bass or dubstep (is dubstep even a thing anymore?).
The earliest album on Spotify, Fanimals, is only six tracks long but not a single one of them is bad. I love that album so much right now. I would probably say Subway Gawdz is the slightly more accessible of the two however, since Fanimals is completely instrumental and I think a lot of people find it difficult to get used to a lack of vocals.
Whichever album you're listening to though, it's loud, it's dirty, it's different, it's in your face, and I think it's bloody fantastic. I can't get enough, and I can't not dance whenever they're playing. If you're looking for something new to listen to/obsess over, and are willing to approach with an open mind, you should definitely seek out Too Many Zooz. Ugh, I can't even convey to you how good they are - seriously, go listen to them.
I was so disappointed to find out that I missed their recent live appearances in London by just a couple of months - hopefully they'll come back in the future, I'll be there in a shot.
Saxophonist Leo P also plays in Lucky Chops, who - from what I've heard - play more traditional big band music, similar to the swing-style work from the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. I haven't made as much of an effort to listen to their stuff to be honest, they sound good but they're just coming from a different place to TMZ.
I'm always interested in discovering bands who offer something new, and Too Many Zooz are the best example of that I've encountered in a long time.
