Jazz Articles

Rigel Michelena: Bartok's Room

by John W. Patterson
April 12, 2002

Take yer fav ball o' silly putty and roll it over a sound/style image of chops a la Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, Alex MacHacek, Joe Satriani, and snippets of Robert “the math-rock, monsieur Roboto” Fripp and squash out a nice distorto reprinted mosaic riffage picture of Michelena's multi-instrumentalist expertise and voicings . . . and you have this release in a nutshell or putty print.Seriously, a great deal super-duper, quicksilver riffs, frettage and wailings are going down here. ...

Rigel Michelena: Bartok's Room

by John W. Patterson
March 1, 2002

Take yer fav ball o' silly putty and roll it over a sound/style image of chops a la Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, Alex MacHacek, Joe Satriani, and snippets of Robert “the math-rock, monsieur Roboto” Fripp and squash out a nice distorto reprinted mosaic riffage picture of Michelena's multi-instrumentalist expertise and voicings . . . and you have this release in a nutshell or putty print.Seriously, a great deal super-duper, quicksilver riffs, frettage and wailings are going down here. ...

Lunar Chateau: Beyond The Reach Of Dreams

by Glenn Astarita
September 1, 2001

With their second release, the three brothers known as “Lunar Chateau”, continue to incorporate synth textures with hard driving, predominately straight-four rhythms and vocals, yet here, the band surges onward with mixed results. The opener, “Olympus Mons” features keyboardist Novak Sekulovich’s regally pronounced lead synth lines, atop a simply stated and relatively catchy hook, whereas nondescript themes and vocals mar the piece titled, “Far From Home”. However, drummer Milo Sekulovich and bassist Paul Sekulovich generally provide enough ammo or perhaps ...

KBB: Lost and Found

by Michael Askounes
February 1, 2001

So... you say you like wacky time signatures? Like lots of keyboard runs and some serious musical virtuosity? Like CDs where all the songs clock in at over six minutes? Well, that's good because there's a hot item from Musea Records that should be on your “to buy" list courtesy of four incredibly talented musicians from Japan known as KBB. The name of the album is Lost and Found, and as far as fusion/prog bands go they don't get much ...

Lunar Chateau: Lunar Chateau

by Glenn Astarita
December 1, 2000

Recorded in 1994 and newly released on the French progressive rock label “Musea”, the American band “Lunar Chateau” have been garnering a noteworthy reputation throughout Europe, the US and South America for several years. A keyboard, drums and bass trio consisting of the Sekulovich brothers, lead vocalist and bassist Paul Sekulovich’s breezy incantations might appeal to fans of “Yes”, “Camel” and a few other prominent and time honored outfits of the progressive rock genre.

The band exhibits a strong predilection ...

Samla Mammas Manna: Kaka

by Michael Askounes
November 1, 2000

70's Swedish avant-garde jazz-ers Samla Mammas Manna may not be accessible enough to tickle everyone's fancy. Some folks might think that they're too bizarre and unstructured. Some folks may be turned off by the off-key chanting and yelling that peppers their releases. Some people won't like the heavy use of uncongenial instruments such as the marimba, bouzouki, veena, and accordion. But, I'd be willing to bet that everyone would agree that there's no one out there quite like the quirky ...

Yochk'o Seffer Big Band: YOG 3

by Michael Askounes
November 1, 2000

To say that Yochk'o Seffer's Big Band release YOG 3 is an acquired taste is an incredible understatement. This is Jazz in Opposition at its core - the musical landscapes used here most certainly have their roots in music other than the traditional Western composers. I'll be right up front about YOG 3 - with a few exceptions, I found the music to be incredibly difficult to wade through and very grating on the ears. However, I would guess that ...

Priam: 3 distances / irregular signs

by Scott Andrews
October 1, 2000

Priam, a French instrumental quartet named after the King of Troy in the Greek legend of that city's fall, plays melodic prog rock with ethereal synth breaks. The songs on 3 distances / irregular signs are arranged into three suites, each with three parts.

Soaring guitar melodies move seamlessly into melodic solos and back to composed figures, dominating the languid, occasionally melodramatic prog rock. The guitar almost exclusively takes a forefront role, playing single note melodic lines mixed above the ...

Kenso: In the West

by John W. Patterson
August 1, 2000

In the West is a live, studio-ready recording from On the West, Tokyo performances of Kenso in Sep 1997. This excellent recording showcases a group that perfectly dances the knife-edge twixt progressive rock and jazz fusion. At times they remind me of Return to Forever and then The Dixie Dregs. Even hints of Happy the Man are detected. Kenso is a well-kept Japanese secret to most fusion fans.Guitarist Yoshihisa Shimizu handles the fret board like Steve Morse and ...

Kehell: Galileo

by John W. Patterson
August 1, 2000

Kehell is Shigekazu Kamaki on guitars, guitar-synth, and pedal-synth with Yasuyuki Hirose on bass and Toru Hamada on drums. This is Japanese prog fusion with smooth jazz fuzak and guitar rock yearnings. What do I mean? Well, Kamaki seems to want to be a jazz rock fusion composer/musician but many times he breaks out into Beck/Montrose/Satriani rock riffs and flurries of guitar-hero effects in the midst of moments that one might expect . . . ah, more fusion and less ...