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Jeff Kollman: Shedding Skin
by Michael Askounes
If there’s one thing you learn from listening to a lot of prog/rock/fusion music, it’s that lightning-fast guitar players are a dime a dozen. Listeners are generally impressed the first couple of times they hear a nimble fingered axeman set their fretboard on fire, but after you realize that there’s a ton of similar guitarists out ...
Garden of Forgotten Ideals: Storm at Sunrise
by Michael Askounes
Apparently hell bent on single handedly bringing back the Deep Purple brand of “Hammond Organ Heavy Metal,” Storm at Sunrise has thrust upon the music community their latest release, the pretentiously titled Garden of Forgotten Ideals. Let me first say that this band has two things I never thought I’d see in a rock band:
Magus: Highway 375
by Michael Askounes
Highway 375 is a 20 minute musical journey from the mind and body of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Robinson – and what an incredibly journey it is! Robinson’s brand of futuristic space rock combines Porcupine Tree-style guitar riffs with his own digital synth soundscapes to excellent effect, creating music that is totally engaging and completely relaxing at the ...
The Trey Gunn Band: The Joy of Molybdenum
by Michael Askounes
Robert Fripp disciple Trey Gunn has taken some time out from his King Crimson day job to produce his new release, the strangely titled The Joy of Molybdenum. The album relies heavily on Gunn's groundbreaking work on 8, 10, and 12 string touch guitars, and also features guitarist Tony Geballe and percussionist Bob Muller. Upon first ...
Brian Auger: Voices of Other Times
by Michael Askounes
Londoner jazz staple Brian Auger has had a long and distinguished career dating all the way back to the early 60's English jazz scene. The list of players that have shared the studio/stage with Auger reads like a who's who of modern jazz-fusion. Given his pedigree, the last thing I expected when cueing up Brian Auger ...
Spock's Beard: V
by Michael Askounes
Like it or not, there is no doubt that Spock's Beard is one of today's most successful progressive rock acts. Its leader - keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist Neal Morse - is about as prolific as a composer can be, releasing three CDs within the course of a year. The first one was a self-titled solo album, ...
Mind Gallery: Three Meals From Revolution
by Michael Askounes
Mind Gallery, and their latest release Three Meals From Revolution is a tough release to categorize. The band basically take the ideals of the 60’s, the prog rock musical structure of the 70’s, the loud grating keyboard sounds on the 80’s, and the oft over-simplified song composition (yes, simplified prog is possible – just listen to ...
Ensemble Elektra: The Book of Time
by Michael Askounes
To say that world jazz fusion violinist Elektra Kurtis comes from several different backgrounds is like saying Jay Leno has “a bit of a chin.” Ms. Kurtis has been born in, raised by people from, or lived in various diverse areas such as Greece, Egypt, America, Finland, and Poland – and you can bet that she ...
North Star: Tempest
by Michael Askounes
Put one part Keith Emerson (at his most pretentious), one part FM (you remember... the band with Nash the Slash), and a dash of Ravi Shankar in a mixing studio. Press record vigorously, pepper with pointlessness and you've got Tempest, the new release from North Star. To say that these guys are eclectic is like saying ...
