The Royal Potato Family

When Jaco Pastorius called his music “punk jazz,” he wasn’t referring to punk rock – he meant the attitude of a punk. The Dead Kenny Gs, however, present an actual fusion of jazz (and world music) with punk and metal, the name as much a dig on smooth saxist Kenny Gorelick as a tribute to its other namesake, The Dead Kennedys. Operation Long Leash, its second album, largely follows the lead of its 2010 debut: Mike Dillon’s shimmering vibes and brawny drumming joining forces with Skerik’s rough sax and dreamy Fender Rhodes with Brad Houser’s electric bass gluing it all together. Compositionally, songs like “Melvin Jones” say it all: bursts of thrashing metal alternate with cool sax-and-vibes segments, whetting one’s appetite for the tablas-fueled Indian jam ahead.