Ben Flocks: Moon and Sand

Moonshades—a collection of twelve compositions inspired by the moon—is the third album by Ben Flocks. At a time when, with the Artemis II mission, we seem to be entering a new—and perhaps more ominous—space age, the Los Angeles-based saxophonist prefers to look at the moon the way generations of artists, poets and philosophers have: as a symbol of mystery, of the unknowable and of the human impulse to explore... before our presence risks turning even that new frontier into real estate.

Musically, the project dwells largely in the realm of mid-tempos and ballads that a casual listener might mistake for traditional. Except that, around every corner, subtle details and quiet revelations whisper in the ear of the attentive listener: yes... there may be standards here, but they are approached with the modern sensibility of a jazz diamond cutter, uncovering new facets in familiar gems.

Take, for instance, the exquisite dialogue between Flocks, drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarist Will Graefe and bassist Garret Lang on "Moon and Sand," which transforms Alec Wilder's nocturnal meditation on love's impermanence into a more fitting soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey than Strauss' "The Blue Danube." Try it yourself: sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and play that film's iconic docking sequence—which you can find here—with the sound muted while Flocks' transportive rendition of "Moon and Sand" fills the room. The pairing is uncanny.