Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bartz: Build Your Own Planet

Bartz: Build Your Own Planet

By John W. Patterson
May 1, 2001
View read count

After Bartz’s amazing Pictures of Earth and Space release in 1987, the Audion label went “belly-up” and other labels snubbed the music Bartz had prepared as follow-up to PoEaS. It was a demoralizing time with everyone scrambling for Yanni-clones. Bartz waited. The Internet explosion allowed freedom for Bartz to bypass record label gauntlets. He dusted off the years and has now re-issued the music once unheard.

Bartz sent me a signed copy of Build Your Own Planet along with other CDs. I found a very similar gestalt to the PoEaS guitar and wildly cool, effects menagerie of sound and glory but also a slicker smoother, headier, slightly jazzier approach to Bartz’s endless attempt at “freeing” the listener to wander some inner Cosmos of dream. Bartz had also more firmly meshed each track together into a nearly perfect whole-album song.

How ignorant those record labels of yesterday were not to see the gems here! Maybe now, in the 21st century, Bartz’s 100% unique sound will be heard and appreciated for the genius and deep head-trip that it offers. Get yours before this collectors item is history.

Unique guitar and amazing sound engineering effects await you.

Cyberhome: http://www.niia.net/~jdminc/

Track Listing

7 seamless, mind voyages into deep space and inner visions

Personnel

Bartz

Jim Bartz

Album information

Title: Build Your Own Planet | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Imagineer

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Cynthia Sayer
< Previous

Larry Fuller: It's a Dream to Play w...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.