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Lifesigns: Lifesigns
by Glenn Astarita
UK-based trio Lifesigns combines expressive soloing, stately overtones and heart-pumping opuses via impressive progressive-pop sensibilities and multi-tiered compositions, hardened by classic prog virtuosity. The band acquires compassionate support from icons, guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis) and flautist Thijs Van Leer (Focus). Guitarists Jakko Jakszyk and Robin Boult (Fish) contribute, yet the listings do not identify the guest ...
Ryan Cohan: The River
by Glenn Astarita
Looking back, there must be hundreds or perhaps thousands of album titles that designate some reference to a river, regardless of their genre. But talented pianist Ryan Cohan does impart a distinctive stylization within the grand scope of this thoroughly modern jazz oeuvre, inspired by a recent U.S. State Department-sponsored tour of East Africa, and intersected ...
Days Between Stations: In Extremis
by Glenn Astarita
The band moniker, Days Between Stations is named after Steve Erikson's 1985 novel and perhaps intimates an ongoing musical transition set forth by Southern California-based multi-instrumentalists, Oscar Fuentes Bills and Sepand Samzadeh. In Extremis is the duo's second release following its self-titled 2007 album. Here, the artists employ fabled progressive-rockers--keyboardist Rick Wakeman, bassist Tony Levin, XTC ...
Eskelin - Alcorn - Formanek: Mirage
by Glenn Astarita
The Rolling Stones, Yes, and other prominent bands have incorporated the pedal steel guitar into the rock vernacular. Here, pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn extends this instrument beyond customary Americana or Country & Western formats and becomes the link between modern jazz champions, tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and bassist Michael Formanek. She builds a bridge for ...
Trespass Trio + Joe McPhee: Human Encore
by Glenn Astarita
Sweden-based Trespass Trio aligns with American improvising legend Joe McPhee for a live set, recorded 2012 at Salao Brazil. The artists' camaraderie, gamesmanship, and intuitive synergy become quite evident from the onset. From a holistic perspective, the band's rugged approach balances a prevalent degree of experimentation with familiar modern jazz terrain. Indeed, an audience-pleaser; even by ...
Allan Holdsworth: FLATTire: Music For a Non-Existent Movie
by Glenn Astarita
FLATTire was released in 2001 and highlights Allan Holdsworth's use of the MIDI-controller, guitar-like Synthaxe, and is based on a soundtrack for a non-existent movie, marking a period of reflection in the artist's life. However, the album did not receive much attention amid a sparse print run. Here, the guitarist integrates the broad tonal aspects of ...
Pablo Ablanedo Octet(o): ReContraDoble
by Glenn Astarita
Executed and stylized within the heart of Tango, Pablo Ablanedo's octet features distinguished jazz trumpeter Phil Grenadier and other prominent Boston-based musicians. The Argentinean composer/pianist incisive arrangements, charted with layered horns and contrapuntal theme-building exercises are contoured by breezy choruses, buoyant jazz improv and the inherent festivities often resident within the Latin jazz element. Ablanedo's compositions ...
Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense: Moment & The Message
by Glenn Astarita
Trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson communicates a vibrantly rhythmic platform on Moment & The Message. His resume includes work with alto saxophone luminaries Steve Coleman and Steve Lehman; the album opener Circus" is stylistically framed on pioneering woodwind legend Henry Threadgill's geometrically patterned compositions. But Finlayson rests on his own laurels with this debut solo effort. The set ...
Berserk!: Berserk!
by Glenn Astarita
What, you might ask, qualifies a record as Berserk? In this case, going Berserk! combines a string of cunning abstracts, tinted with goofy metrics, blistering progressive-rock etudes, anti-pop, heavy metal and ghostly ambient electronics effects. The masterminds are Italians, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari and bassist Lorenzo Feliciati. Perhaps the leaders overdosed on energy drinks, given the ...
Dewa Budjana: Dawai In Paradise
by Glenn Astarita
Eminent guitarist Dewa Budjana's fifth solo album offers a medley of compelling stylistic components steeped in Indo-fusion, jazz fusion, progressive rock and indigenous components of his Indonesian roots. The album also includes older material, spanning 2002 through 2005, featuring US jazz heroes including drummer Peter Erskine, the late bassist Dave Carpenter, and many others who generate ...


