Marc Cary: Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1

Jazz pianist Marc Cary pays a bit of homage to the electric piano that Harold Rhodes started developing way back in the mid-forties as Leo Fender subsequently bought the rights and appended his last name to an instrument that is cherished by many a keyboardist. With Rhodes Ahead, Vol 1 Cary performs on the rhodes, and the now ancient yet still delectable (analog) moog synthesizer, while the end results prove to be somewhat of a mixed bag at best.

The opener, a composition titled “Rhodes Ahead Intro” features groove beats and Cary’s airy chord progressions performed on the rhodes, yet his dissonant lines and tinny sounding moog EFX/soloing seems a bit superfluous or to some extent, pointless. On “Treasure Part 1” Cary provides the textures yet electric bassist Tarus Mateen turns in some fluid lines to an otherwise forgettable theme while “Inside Your Self (You’ll Find Love)” boasts a straight-four pulse and affable jungle-beat rhythms. At this juncture some of the material and concepts sound dated yet “Take Me Higher” is a hearty spin on that 70’s vibe made famous by Herbie Hancock as Cary’s dreamy and enticingly melodic statements along with a lazy funk-style backbeat hits the mark. The final track titled “Turning” boasts a breezy, ambient motif marked by Cary’s emphatic and well-placed notes. Yet at this point it may have been too little, too late

Throughout, Cary displays a sincere appreciation for this time-honored instrument while many of these pieces are nothing more than fragmented themes stitched together as we hope that this highly regarded jazz pianist comes up with a little more – compositional – substance on Vol. 2 of this series.

* * ½ (out of * * * * *)