Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Jazz Mandolin Project: Xenoblast
The Jazz Mandolin Project: Xenoblast
ByThe JMP’s ties to the jam band scene couldn’t be clearer. Masefield hails from Vermont, Phish’s home turf. In fact, Phish drummer Jon Fishman used to play in the JMP. Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, a good friend of Masefield’s, co-engineered Xenoblast at The Barn, his Vermont studio. He guests on the final track, "Hang Ten." Fans of Phish and similar groups will automatically kindle to the JMP, especially the more jam-oriented tracks like "The Milliken Way" and "Spiders." But like the Grateful Dead before them, Phish is a band that tends to inspire either passionate loyalty or outright loathing. If you fall into the latter category, the JMP is probably not for you. However, an open-minded listen to Xenoblast yields many rewards: the strongly jazz-inflected mandolin on "Double Agent," the balladic tones of "Jovan," the folky textures of "Shaker Hill," and the 5/4 funk groove of the Stravinsky-inspired "Igor."
While it can be said that Masefield and the JMP are riding the crest of a commercial wave, they’re doing something undeniably different. And Masefield, not incidentally, has opened all kinds of doors for future mandolinists to walk through and explore.
Personnel
Jazz Mandolin Project
band / ensemble / orchestraAlbum information
Title: Xenoblast | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Blue Note Records
< Previous
Charles Lloyd: Crossing the Waters Wide
Next >
Passages
Comments
About Jazz Mandolin Project
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToTags
The Jazz Mandolin Project
CD/LP/Track Review
Jazz Mandolin Project
David Adler
Blue Note Records
United States
Xenoblast