Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » James Johnson and Robert Scott Thompson: Forgotten Places

149

James Johnson and Robert Scott Thompson: Forgotten Places

James Johnson and Robert Scott Thompson: Forgotten Places
Fans of Harold Budd, Brian Eno, and Roger Eno piano with treatments works will enjoy this release. This, to date, is James Johnson's most "mainstream, new agey, relaxation piano" release. It will have a very broad appeal to those afraid of weirder-voiced ambience or highly synthesized excursions. As Michael Allison aka Darshan Ambient is one of the newer masters of melodic ambience so too I see Johnson has this ability in him to create compositionally. The dreamy and lilting pianoscapes of Johnson with Thompson's select embellishments and treatments are in perfect balance. This is a very pleasing listening experience that will serve to establish James Johnson as one of the genre's best. I knew this long ago on my very first listen to his Surrender releases which featured a delightful piano intermission betwixt a wall of drones.

This is a 95% total relaxation release. Only on the 5:28 "Innocence Lost" does a tension surround the listener with ominous and mournful synths. This is gradually decreased by the careful entry of Johnson's piano and some wordless choir effects but there remains a sense of remorse and unresolved regrets throughout. Those folks who like a touch of environmental sounds courtesy of the Hand of the Creator will also enjoy nature's watery whispers here and there on "Low & Clear."

Overall, this is a solid winner for fans of meandering ivories that drift in the airy heights of the soul's ascent to peace. This type of music re-affirms to my soul that Man is more than brain and brawn. He is a living soul with Mind and a spirit to hear the call of the Eternal One. And Death is but a door.

Track Listing

A Slow Return, Resonant Landscape, Stolen Moment, Then & Now, Innocence Lost, Mineola Bay, Low & Clear, Malay, Luminous, Endless

Personnel

James Johnson
synthesizer

James Johnson - synths, piano, samples, field recordings Robert Scott Thompson - synths, samples, computer music synthesis and digital signal processing

Album information

Title: Forgotten Places | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Zero Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.