MWE3.COM
MUSIC NEWS & NOTES
The
SUMMER 2017 RECORD LABEL SPOTLIGHT
POP
& ROCK
ABIZAID
PUBLISHING -– Born in the country of Lebanon and based in
Los Angeles, Amanda Abizaid released a seven track CD in early
2017. Walking In Twos is notable for some electric guitar
work by Stephen Stills of CSN, appearing on the lead-off title
track. Ms. Abizaid sounds influenced by a range of North American
singer-songwriters—from Sheryl Crow to Anna Domino and Ricky
Lee Jones to any number of rising singer songwriter talents. Filled
with pop with rock influences and chill-out grooves, the album is
well produced and the songs are memorable. Ms. Abizaid describes her
music as “Neo-Soul meets World Music” and on the small world
side of things, the album is actually a benefit for Filipino schoolchildren.
A range of players fill out the sonic sound stage that features elegant
sounding, multilayered keyboard work and the appealing grooves and
rhythms all add credence to the overall sound. Track six “Promises
Of Love” is particularly promising with its slight 1960s pop
cadences meets the World Beat side of 21st century hip-hop culture.
Also appearing on Walking In Twos is Mark Stephen Weitz
(Wurlitzer) from 1960s psychedelic pop icons Strawberry
Alarm Clock. www.AmandaAbizaid.com
ALBERTO
LOMBARDI MUSIC – Fans of Tommy Emmanuel should give a listen
to Birds, the 2016 CD by Italy’s hot new
guitarist Alberto Lombardi. Acoustic-based guitar instrumental
music, Birds does in fact feature Alberto singing on two covers
of David Bowie (“Life On Mars) and Elton John (“My Father’s
Gun”), both from the golden year of 1971. Those are a couple
highlights for sure but throughout, the mostly instrumental album
features Alberto’s excellent fingerpicking and flatpicking acoustic
styles. There’s plenty of excellent guitar work on hand and amid
the instros, there’s also a CD opening cover of the always classic
“Volare”, covers of The Beatles (“Come Together”),
Hoagy Carmichael (“Georgia On My Mind”) and much more. Fellow
guitarist Tim Sparks appears on the title track but otherwise,
Birds is a great guitar album from Alberto Lombardi. www.albertolombardi.com
ARTHUR
OFFEN MUSIC - There's
something for all sorts of progressive rock fans on Seven Wonders—the
2017 CD by Georgia-based musical conceptualist, Arthur Offen.
An astute and intuitive singer / songwriter who gained fame in 1980
for the Air Raid album, produced by noted music producer / engineer
Eddie Kramer, as well as for three albums made with the band Flag—Arthur's
strong
point is his unique vocal style, that mixes a driving Gary Brooker
/ Procol Harum sound meets an early '70s Elton John approach. Rooted
in hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock, the Seven Wonders
CD is wonderfully packaged and the lyrics come in a CD booklet
complete with lyrics and some wildly colorful looking artwork. Describing
his mission on Seven Wonders, Arthur tells mwe3.com, "I
knew that number one, Seven Wonders was going to be a rocker from
the way things started going as I started fleshing out the tunes.
What was emerging to my ears was as a progressive rock set that was
heavy on the rock end of the spectrum." Seven
Wonders works best as a total listening experience, although
track five "Twas Meant To Be" would clearly make a great
radio single track. A range of early to mid 1970s influences come
to mind on Seven Wonders, including heavy, electric guitar-centric
rock bands such as Deep Purple, Procol Harum and even Gentle Giant.
A number of musicians back up Arthur and his core team on Seven
Wonders, including multi-instrumentalists and co-producers Rick
Hinkle and Tom Waltz. By combining a range of rock influences
with a intensely lyrical approach, singer-songwriter Arthur Offen
delivers the goods on an album that is absorbing and, at times, positively
astonishing. In a fitting gesture, Seven Wonders is dedicated
to much-missed rock icons Chris Squire and Paul Kantner as well as
to every fallen soldier. www.arthuroffen.com
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS – Back in 1971, Stackridge cofounder Andy
Davis played guitar on John Lennon's Imagine album. A few
short years later Andy and his band were recording their masterpiece
with Beatles producer George Martin. Signed in the US to Sire Records,
the band was shafted by Sire in favor of the punk and new wave culture
that dominated that late ‘70s culture. Making their big comeback
in 2000, with the band’s cofounder James Warren featured
as the catalyst member, Stackridge hit their stride on their 2005
comeback album Sex & Flags but just when they hit their
zenith on their final 2009 studio album it was too damn late! Other
group founders Mutter Slater and Crun Walter left the
band shortly thereafter but despite it all, Andy and James reconvened
Stackridge one last time in 2015 and the results can be heard on a
splendid 2017 double CD set on Angel Air called The Final Bow,
Bristol 2015. Mutter does appear on a couple tracks
making it the closest thing to a comeback. The keyboards of Glenn
Tommey give the tracks a kind of Martin-eque orchestral aura,
while Claire Lindley has really blossomed as an excellent lead
and backing vocalist, supporting the songs of both Davis and Warren.
Drummer Eddie John provides a vital studio type drumming sound.
The tracks from the final 2009 A Victory For Common Sense are
excellent as clearly long time fans will note. An excellent booklet
provides a whole history of Stackridge which all proves that Warren,
Davis and company still command the respect of pop aficionados world
wide. All in all there’s 22 tracks of vintage Stackridge, dusted
off with a 21st century retro-glow. www.angelair.co.uk
BIG
CROWN -RECORDS – Brooklyn-based Big Crown Records
released the 2016 self-titled debut CD by lo-fi pop mavens The
Shacks. Featuring multi-instrumentalist Max Shrager paired
with singer/bass players Shannon Wise, the CD is very listenable
and is filled with a number of pop surprises including a leadoff cover
of the Kinks classic “This Strange Effect”. The nine track
CD features a couple bonus tracks. Shrager has a cool looking solo
album out called Thoughts Of You, while there’s also another
Shacks CD consisting of instrumental music, not surprisingly entitled
Instrumentals. The Shacks nine cut album is released
on ten inch vinyl, CD and download. www.shacksband.com
DIVING
BELL RECORDING COMPANY – She’s being called a curio
of the 21st century Seattle recording scene and with her 2016 CD,
called Flux, singer-songwriter Anomie Belle
lives up to the hype. Filled with playful, hip-hop beats and ambient
pop musings, the twelve track CD sounds great and comes across as
a most mesmerizing spin. Apparently, there’s an art book featuring
fourteen visual art pieces that accompany the CD, and a digital booklet
is included with the CD. Even so, the art on the cover, designed by
Redd Walitzki, is quietly disconcerting. Featuring beat box
inspired electronica, the Flux CD is mostly written, recorded,
performed and produced by Anomie with several backing vocals, spoken
word vocals, cello and live drums performed by guest artists. Mixing
hip-hop dance beats with a soulful take on 21st century avant pop,
Seattle-based avant-garde pop electronica songstress Anomie Belle
comes up with some intriguing musical directions on the beguiling
sounding Flux. www.divingbellrecordco.com
EAGLE
ROCK RECORDS – The name Procol Harum is well-known
among prog-rock fans and especially to those lucky enough to have
thrilled to their groundbreaking rock sound back in the late 1960s
and early 1970s. It’s been 14 long years since Eagle Records
released 2003’s The Well’s On Fire but here we are
in 2017 with Novum. What’s surprising is
that long time Procol lyricist Keith Reid is missing in action
only to be replaced by the legendary Jack Bruce lyricist Pete Brown,
famous for writing the lyrics for so many great Cream songs in the
late ‘60s. Gary Brooker is still amazing, setting an example
of sheer pop exuberance even for us over ‘60s types living through
the Trump age of shock and awe. Novum is a beautiful statement
of pure prog bliss, with that classic Procol guitar sound conjured
effortlessly by the great Geoff Whitehorn. Speaking to mwe3.com
about Novum and Pete Brown, Geoff Whitehorn explains, "This
time we really did as a band, y'know, just five guys in a room, with
a minimum of overdubs. I think it's a great continuation of the Procol
Harum tradition and anybody who's into us, and, hopefully, people
who aren't, will find a lot to like there. The Gary and Keith thing
just came to a natural end, and with Pete's pedigree, he seemed a
natural choice, and was very easy to work with". With Brooker
and Whitehorn at the top of their game, all these years later, the
band is further fleshed out by Matt Pegg (bass) and Geoff
Dunn (drums) with Josh Phillips (keys) adding in
that classic Matthew Fisher-inspired Hammond sound. Long time Procol
Harum fans can’t go wrong with Novum. www.procolharumnovum.com
ELEKTROHASCH
– A German label on the cutting edge of contemporary Kraut-rock,
Elektrohasch released a 2017 CD called In Her Garden,
by the instrumental power trio Colour Haze. Guitars and
vocals are supplied by Stefan Koglek and the trio is fleshed
out by the rock-solid rhythm section of Tim Höfer (drums)
and Christian Wiesner (bass). While the majority of music here
is instrumental in scope, Koglek adds in the occasional vocal, which
brings in a kind of heavy metal touch on an otherwise progressive
sounding instrumental rock guitar outing. The Colour Haze sound has
been called a kid of “Doom Psycore” or “Goth-punk-jazz”
and “Krautwave”. Either way, Koglek’s guitar is incredible
sounding and on In Her Garden, Koglek pushes his name right
up their with German guitar heroes like Michael Rother and even more
recently Alan J. Bound. Colour Haze revels in a kind of 21st century
power trio inspired by the likes of Cream, Hendrix and Grand Funk
Railroad. Touches of German sonic engineering makes the Colour Haze
album In Her Garden a vital slice of 21st century instrumental
Euro rock. www.elektrohasch.de
/ www.colourhaze.de
ENGLISH
ELECTRIC RECORDINGS – Prog-rock favourites Big Big Train
returned in a big way in 2017 with Grimspond.
The eight track CD combines progressive rock with more complex
instrumental sections. Speaking about the album, lead singer David
Longdon says, ‘Grimspond has followed on very swiftly
from our 2016 album Folklore. We found ourselves with a wealth of
new material and we have been able to move the band’s sound forward.’
Bass player Greg Spawton adds, ‘There is some complex
music on this album, with extended instrumental sections alongside
vocal passages.’ The instrumental side of this latest Big
Big Train album will provide interest among instrumental rock fans
while the band’s legendary progressive rock sound comes well
into focus on Grimspond making it a good choice for Big Big
Train devotees. www.bigbigtrain.com
ENRAPTURED
RECORDS – The
U.K. pop-rock band Coldharbourstores released their first album
in 2002 and many years later they’re back with a 2017 release
called Wilderness. The album is filled with dreamy,
post-rock sounds accentuated by the superb vocals of Lucy Castro,
who is backed up by her bandmates—David Read, Michael
McCabe and Liam Greany—all topped off by the splendid
production of Graham Sutton. Filled with surreal soundscapes
and over-the-top production, the experimental sounding rock album
is currently being heralded as one of the year's best indy rock albums.
Speaking about the chemistry of 
Coldharbourstores,
group guitarist Michael McCabe explains, “An important
aspect of the group is that there aren’t particularly fixed roles
on tracks; we all play whatever we feel like”, with group
drummer Liam Greany adding, “The chemistry is interesting!
We have always got on well, but I was for a long while conscious that
I was joining an established band. The friendships have taken a long
time to develop, but that can be a good thing and over the years has
become something we are all proud of.” With its myriad of
postmodern rock influences looming over the sonic landscape, it’s
plain to see that there’s plenty of worthy sonic treasure here
worth mining as you play and re-play the Coldharbourstores CD. www.coldharbourstores.com
/ www.enraptured-records.com
FIRE
RECORDS – Fire Records breaks new ground for state of the
art, 21st century synth pop with the 2017 CD release of Modern
Kosmology, the ten track Fire Records release by UK
singer-songwriter Jane Weaver. With its mix of post-punk rock,
Teutonic flavored Kraut-rock, New Wave and electronica, Modern
Kosmology is lush with haunting and atmospheric soundscapes. 
To
help her execute her beguiling mix is a wide range of musos, including
Malcolm Mooney, original vocalist from the ranks of German
rock pioneers Can as well as assorted guitarists and drummers. Hardly
a newcomer to the music world, Ms. Weaver has a number of albums out
under her own name and she also contributed a cover song to the Neil
Young tribute album released as a magazine bag-stuffer by Mojo Magazine
in 2011. Fans of the Velvet Underground with Nico as well as German
Krautrock bands like Faust and Can will find much musical imagination
in play on Jane Weaver’s Modern Kosmology. www.firerecords.com
MUTE
RECORDS – I remember speaking with Stackridge founder and
guitar ace Andy Davis way back 12 years ago in 2005 about his current
activities. Andy told me he was playing keyboards in the band of Goldfrapp
declaring to my unassuming ears that “she’s very good, a
very talented woman”. Featuring lead vocalist and songwriter
Allison Goldfrapp, the 2017 CD release of Silver Eye
is the best Goldfrapp album to date. Her music tribal, heathenistic
and very emotive, Ms. Goldfrapp is both earthy and effective—Silver
Eye pounding out the beat in an orgy of synth-rock filled with
wild electronica dressing. Goldfrappe gives Madonna a run for her
money with Silver Eye. The driving force behind the sound,
Goldfrapp receives support from her long time partner, multi-instrumentalist
Will Gregory, along with help from other fine players like
guitarist Leo Abrahams, who also adds in some production chores
and Sebastian Sternberg on live drum loops. Several further
co-producers, programmers and mastering engineers give Silver Eye
a cutting edge kind of sound. A fine introduction to state of
the art Silver Eye will no doubt please long time Goldfrapp
fans. www.mute.com
MUTUALLY
DETRIMENTAL –
Any artist signed to a label called Mutually Detrimental better be
good, and living up to the hype MD release Yours Conditionally
by the husband and wife duo called Tennis. Sort of
having a ping pong pop effect, the album features excellent full band
backing by Patrick Moore and chanteuse Alaina Moore.
The album combines a 1960s girl group effect evoking great singers
like Marti Jones and ‘60s superstar Petula Clark. Tennis songs
are very beat-group in a cool ‘60s girl group way with Ms. Moore
sounding quite authentic as a 21st century retro-pop vocalist. Steve
Voss adds drums on several cuts with Patrick handling all the
keys, guitars, drums and Ms. Moore also adding keys and more. It seems
Moore is more on a CD that will please 21st century retro-pop
fans and those looking to hear music on the cutting edge of modern
pop. Just flashing on a vision of the warden letting Phil Spector
out of jail long enough to produce the next album from pop genies
Tennis. www.mutuallydetrimental.com
OUR SILENT CANVAS – Based in Woodstock, NY, Our Silent Canvas
released Still Love by Ghost Against Ghost. I
remember when Robert Fripp decided he didn’t want to have pop
hits with King Crimson, he went into an early form of shock rock or
shock prog. Mostly instrumental, on Still Love, Ghost Against
Ghost evokes the spirit of early 1970s King Crimson and then some.
The band is a centerpiece for Brooklyn resident Christopher Bono,
who gets a wide range of amazingly recorded sounds. According to his
web site, Bono looks at music as sonic architecture filled with alien
and psychic sculptures, which he derived after listening to the music
of Stravinsky. Is Ghost Against Ghost the answer to Stravinsky in
the 21st century? Several cuts feature Bono’s Sting-like vocals
yet, structurally the devastating instrumental sonic assault of Ghost
Against Ghost could also be looked at as being modern day classical
in nature. Bono cites Pink Floyd during their Dark Side era,
the music of electronic classicist Vangelis and also Black Sabbath
as well as other post-rock artists as big influences. Millennials,
and veteran neo-proggers should find these reasons enough to enjoy
Ghost Against Ghost. www.ghostagainstghost.com
PARAPLY
RECORDS – In my liner notes for the 2017 Citizen K double
CD release, Second Thoughts I mention it in the same
breath as the famous Beatles 1968 double album, known as "The
White Album". Okay, you’re thinking that’s pretty far-fetched
but, it has been nearly 50 years since 1968 and you might be in the
market for a fresh option by now. Seriously, Citizen K, also known
in Sweden as Klas Qvist, gives Sir Paul a run for his money
on Second Thoughts. A couple of singles came out prior to the
release but that in no way gives the full picture behind Second
Thoughts. It has taken a while since the Citizen K breakthrough
album, Meet Citizen K in late 2009. Several EP titles followed
but, lo and behold, released on CD and DL in early 2017, the 23 track
double CD set Second Thoughts is well worth the wait. Refining
his position as Sweden’s premier pop maven, Citizen K’s
songs and voice are in prime form throughout Second Thoughts.
The lyrics are excellent but they’re not printed in the booklet
so you’ll have to search online. Despite downplaying his guitar
chops, Citizen K’s freboard skills are also proven impeccable
as ever and he also adds in all the keyboards. A number of musicians
fill in the spaces, including long time CK drummer Kim Gunneriusson
and the CD sounds quite well produced for an independent album. Try
to find the double CD version as it’s pressed on black vinyl
on CD and is incredible with good artwork and liner notes. Fans of
Sir Paul, Zombie Colin Blunstone and even Al Stewart will enjoy the
Citizen K approach to blending folk and rock into a most appealing
progressive sonic wavelength. www.paraplyrecords.se
RECKLESS
RECORDS – U.K. based band The Brainiac 5 made inroads
with their 2015 comeback album Exploding Universe and
they return in early 2017 with their latest epic called Journey
To X. Once again the band features the core band of
Charlie Taylor (guitars, vocals), Duncan “Mad Dog”
Kerr (guitar, vocals), John “Woody” Wood (bass)
and newest member Joe Malone (drums). Again this latest Brainiac
5 album features a splendid mix of retro-rock and post-punk psychedelia
further fueled with the help of producer / engineer Joe Malone.
A recent press statement issued by the band states “We think
this makes for a heady and intriguing mix, yet still all somehow manages
to sound like The Brainiac 5. The journey has been exciting and fulfilling
and has resulted in what we feel is our most complete and accomplished
work to date.” Although going strong as a band since the
mid 1970s, these two recent efforts by Brainiac 5 will amaze and delight
long time fans of U.K. rock that ascribes to the psyche / punk guitar
oriented template. The seven track, 40 minute Journey To X is
the ultimate musical statement to date by veteran rockers The Brainiac
5. www.brainiac5.co.uk
SOUND
DISCS – Among rock music disciples, the name Deborah Bonham
is rock royalty. Daughter of the late, great John Bonham, cofounder
of Led Zeppelin, Ms. Bonham strikes rock gold with a 2017 remaster
of her 2014 album Spirit. The purpose of the
CD remaster is to collect all the tracks from the sessions, hence
the subtitle, The Complete Sessions Remastered. The
Spirit album adds in a bonus track along with a booklet featuring
a range of pics and lyrics. Ms. Bonham recently toured with Free vocal
legend Paul Rogers doing charity gigs to support the Willows Animal
Sanctuary. Ms. Bonham’s band is first rate 
throughout
and Spirit features a number of contributors including co-producer
Glenn Skinner, guitarist Peter Bullick, pedal steel
legend B.J. Cole and many more including harp contributions
of Led Zep wailer Robert Plant. Cool as that is, the album
sound is first rate and the songs hold up nicely, evoking the spirits
of Zeppelin and groups like Heart, Free and other powerhouse outfits.
Spring of 2017 sees Ms. Bonham’s albums being reissued on CD,
including Looking Back At The Moon: 1985-1991 Sessions,
featuring a collection of songs from her late 1980s compilation
album For You And The Moon, along with bonus tracks. Fans
of Zeppelin, Free, Christine McVie era Fleetwood Mac and Heart will
find much rock music action in play on these albums from Deborah Bonham
and company. www.deborahbonham.com
YAMAHA
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP – Smooth jazz fans will be in orbit with
the 2017 CD release of Reverence by bass ace Nathan
East. The twelve track CD was produced by Nathan and Chris
Gero, and it’s something of a superstar jam. Among the artists
appearing are Phil Collins (drums), Eric Clapton (guitar),
Chuck Loeb (guitar), Greg Phillinganes (keys), Chick
Corea (keys) and a whole lot more. Not only does Nathan handle
the bass work, both electric bass and fretless bass, but he also adds
in his vocals which are featured on various tracks, along with the
help of other excellent R&B and soul-pop singers. A new updated
version of the Earth, Wind & Fire track “Serpentine Fire”
features original EWF members Philip Bailey, Verdine White
and Ralph Johnson. Among the original tracks are upbeat
mostly instrumental covers of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”
and a new arrangement of the Wizard Of Oz classic “Over
The Rainbow”, arranged here by George Shearing, with the
addition of Nathan’s son Noah East and The Nashville
Recording Orchestra. Filled with a mix of smooth jazz instrumental
and soul-pop vocal tracks, Nathan East’s Reverence should
have wide, across the board appeal among music fans. www.nathaneastbass.com
/ www.nathaneast.com
INSTRUMENTAL
ALBERTO
LOMBARDI MUSIC – Fans of Tommy Emmanuel should give a listen
to Birds, the 2016 CD by Italy’s hot new
guitarist Alberto Lombardi. Acoustic-based guitar instrumental
music, Birds does in fact feature Alberto singing on two covers
of David Bowie (“Life On Mars) and Elton John (“My Father’s
Gun”), both from the golden year of 1971. Those are a couple
highlights for sure but throughout, the mostly instrumental album
features Alberto’s excellent fingerpicking and flatpicking acoustic
styles. There’s plenty of excellent guitar work on hand and amid
the instros, there’s also a CD opening cover of the always classic
“Volare”, covers of The Beatles (“Come Together”),
Hoagy Carmichael (“Georgia On My Mind”) and much more. Fellow
guitarist Tim Sparks appears on the title track but otherwise,
Birds is a great guitar album from Alberto Lombardi. www.albertolombardi.com
ALLEN
HINDS MUSIC – Southern-born
and L.A. based guitarist / composer Allen Hinds has long been
appreciated by supporters of jazz-rock instrumental music. American
instrumental rock guitarists are occasionally underrated, say compared
to the legendary English blues-rock guitarists, yet thankfully there
remains a number of brilliant and still rising American fusion aces
looming large on the current 21st century progressive Americana guitar
scene. Long considered one of the most accomplished American electric
guitarist / composers, Alabama born fusion favorite Allen Hinds
returned recently
with not
one, but two fascinating guitar-centric albums. First off, the new
for 2017 Hinds solo masterpiece is called Fly South, as in
returning to one's home as Allen relates the 
story
of the untimely passing of his daughter Katie. There’s a wistfully
nostalgic sort of sonic deja vu permeating the ten tracks on Fly
South. Allen has said that many of the tracks were written on
acoustic guitar and they do have an acoustic effect, yet on other
cuts, his electric guitar just soars into the jazz-rock stratosphere.
Allen’s roots are in the American South, Alabama specifically,
and on Fly South you can literally hear the soul of the South,
with his guitar sound echoing the genius of great Southern guitar
pioneers like Dickey Betts and Duane Allman as well as modern masters
like Pat Metheny and Robben Ford. The band backing up Allen on Fly
South includes veteran fusion drummer Vinnie Colaiuta,
bass players Abe Laboriel, Jimmy Earl and Jimmy Johnson,
and keyboardist Matt Rohde, who are all among the many fine
musicians adding to Fly South. With a mind-boggling array of
memorable melodic cadences, the southern hospitality is never
far away on Fly South - an album that aims to please spin after
spin. Also recent on CD by Allen Hinds is a 2016 jazz-rock instrumental
fusion trio outing called Just Get In, recorded
with his side band called Wonderland
Park. The sound is very Hinds-esque as Allen shares the music
writing with bassist Peter Hastings with the sound enhanced
by drummer Chris Wabich. There’s a friendly, jam-like
effect on Just Get In yet the cohesion of the players is near
perfect and borders on sonic ESP. All told, each of these two recent
albums featuring guitar ace Allen Hinds are right up there among the
finest fusion discs of this fleeting decade. www.allenhinds.com
ANDY
SUMMERS MUSIC – Famous for his many fine solo albums and
work as lead guitarist in The Police, Andy Summers returns
in 2017 with his fourteenth solo album Triboluminescence.
The nine cut CD has kind of an exotic Santana meets African /
Jamaican music vibe and the cover art is also quite African inspired
too. Like many of Andy’s other solo albums, he plays most everything
with the exception of a cellist who appears on a track here. Much
more tribal and World Music oriented, compared with some of Andy’s
earlier solo albums, Triboluminescence includes some unique
sounding instrumentation including hammered percussive instruments
like gamelan, which gives some of the tracks a more exotic kind of
feel. Summers hasn’t ruled out a full scale Police reunion with
Sting and Stewart Copeland yet, short of bringing his solo music to
fans in the US, Summers is in Brazil in March 2017 to play a series
of dates with a Police tribute band. www.andysummers.com
BIG
O RECORDS – So great was the music of The Beatles that nearly
half a century after they first broke up, their music is still being
playing by musicians from every genre of music. Instrumentally, the
Fabs were first covered by MOR giants The Hollyridge Strings and a
couple years after that in the later ‘60s by jazz giant Wes Montgomery.
Fifty years after Wes died, a new band called Organissimo has
taken on a mission to play the fab four and their 2017 CD is called
B3TLES: A Soulful Tribute To The Fab Four. B3
of course as in the famous Hammond organ is at the fore of this Beatles
tribute. Featuring Jim Alfredson (Hammond, Wurlitzer, synths),
Lawrence Barris (guitar) and Randy Marsh, the trio Organissimo
really nails the spirit of the Beatles and it’s clearly reflected
in their choice of the dozen Beatles compositions by both Lennon &
McCartney and George Harrison. Two Harrison songs—“Taxman”
and “Within You Without You” —bookend this CD and overall,
it’s amazing how those two songs and all the other tracks work
so well in the B3 sound of Organissimo. “Come Together”,
“Can’t Buy Me Love”, “I Will” and all the
others sound great in the organ pumping groove bag of B3TLES, making
the entire CD a must for jazz buffs and Beatles fans. 2017’s
B3TLES: A Soulful Tribute To The Fab Four is shaping up to
be the best Beatles tribute album of the year. www.organissimo.org
BLUE
ROOM STUDIOS – Canada-based guitarist Roland Nipp has
been turning out great instrumental albums since 1999 when he put
out Blue Room, not forgetting his 2005 classic By
Night. Much to the delight of his fans, Roland is back in
2017 with yet another excellent CD, his sixth album, called In
The Cool Of The Dawn. With all the original songs written,
performed and produced by Roland, the eleven cut album also features
a deep, introspective cover of the classic old English folk song “Londonderry
Air”. For those just tuning in to Roland Nipp and his wide-ranging
guitar recordings, be advised that his style is quite diverse and
expressive. Guitar fans who enjoy melodic guitar inventions will be
rewarded with Roland's tuneful tracks that combine rock style arrangements
with a toe-tapping beat. Listeners who enjoy hard-rocking instrumental
fusion jazz will tune in to Roland's dextrous fretboard work. For
this writer, among the many highlights of In The Cool Of The Dawn
is the track “1968”. True to form, the melody and overall
sentiment of "1968" perfectly evokes the golden 1968-1971
era when the early rock giants like The Beatles and, shortly after
ELO, ruled the radio waves. Even without vocals or lyrics, the track
is a perfect example of 
Roland’s
still evolving guitar history intertwining with early rock’s
past glories. Basically, guitar fans who enjoy smart instrumental
guitar playing will thrill to In The Cool Of The Dawn and may
very well be inspired enough to track down Roland’s other acclaimed
albums. Roland’s many fretboard influences—like Jeff Beck,
Mark Knopfler and George Harrison—can be spotted throughout this
diverse sounding album, yet even with so many sonic signposts, the
show belongs to Roland Nipp and his manifold guitar personality. Instrumental
guitar fans who enjoy variety and smart songwriting are strongly advised
to give a listen to Roland Nipp and his latest CD masterpiece, In
The Cool Of The Dawn. www.rolandnipp.com
CELEBRATION
DAY RECORDS – The English have such a great sense of humour
(don't forget to add the u in humor) and it extends to the
country’s approach to music no doubt. In particular, the Canterbury
region became synonymous with brilliant music during the late 1960s
and early ‘70s thanks to bands like Caravan and Soft Machine
and many related bands of that era. Carrying on the spirit of the
great lost Canterbury sound is the band Lapis Lazuli who do
good with their 2017 CD called Wrong Meeting. Robert
Wyatt would no doubt love this band as well as fans of late 1970s
era Gong, when they had great guitarists like Allan Holdsworth in
their ranks. So, yes the fusion element is much more front and center
as there are no vocals here. The great instrumental elements of the
classic Canterbury sound are here and are superbly intact on Wrong
Meeting by rising UK fusioneers Lapis Lazuli. www.lapislazuliband.co.uk
CGT
RECORDS – With
the three members located all over the world, The California Guitar
Trio rose to fame through their affiliation with King Crimson
founder Robert Fripp during his early Discipline Global Mobile era.
With a slew of great albums in their canon, CGT has far surpassed
all expectations and, in 2017 they further their legacy with a another
memorable album called Komorebi. Leading off
with the title track—composed by CGT cofounder Hideyo Moriya—the
CD features eleven sparkling, mainly acoustic guitar-based instrumentals
that combine other music composed by group cofounders Bert Lams
and 
Paul
Richards. The album is also notable for some fresh CGT covers,
including the early Shadows classic (penned for them by the late,
great Jerry Lordan) “Wonderful Land”. Other covers on Komorebi
include songs made famous by the Beach Boys (“Good Vibrations”),
Buck Owens (“Buckaroo”), The Beatles (“Dig A Pony”)
and even Dave Brubeck (“Blue Rondo à la Turk”). In
the hands of these three excellent guitarists, these classic songs
come alive as never before. Several guest artists appear—including
CGT family members Tony Levin, Petra Haden and Tom
Griesgraber—but the center spotlight is on the ever-changing,
yet constantly brilliant, California Guitar Trio. Speaking
to mwe3.com about the new cover version of "Wonderful Land"
and "Dig A Pony", Paul Richards adds, "On the second
CGT album we recorded a cover of the Shadows' "Apache",
which was recommended to us by Robert Fripp. He even taught us the
'Shadow Walk' just before going onstage to open for King Crimson at
Royal Albert Hall. We love The Shadows and Jerry Lorden's writing,
so when we were deciding on a surf guitar cover for our new album,
"Wonderful Land" stood out as a winner. For the Beatles
tune... Yes, "Dig a Pony" is certainly one of the Beatles'
novelty tunes and I love the cool guitar riff that begins the tune."
A stellar album from California Guitar Trio, Komorebi is a
tribute to classic music and to the art of instrumental guitar. www.facebook.com
/ www.CGTrio.com
CHARLES
BROWN MUSIC - Progressive rock guitarist Charles Brown returns
in 2017 with his all new instrumental CD - Explorer Of Life -
released on CD and digital download. Explorer Of Life follows
the 2015 Charles Brown album Wind Of The Eastern Sea and is
his finest album to date. Best known to guitar fans as one of the
finest independently produced, instrumental prog-rock fusion 
artists,
Charles Brown has earned a stellar reputation for his many fine albums
that offers a mix of guitar-based Progressive, Jazz-Rock Fusion and
Hard Rock instrumental songs and arrangements. Fans of guitar heroes
such as Pete Townshend, Richie Blackmore, Pat Metheny, Alex Lifeson,
Kim Simmonds and George Benson will want to listen as Charles Brown
explores the realms of the electric guitar with his 2017 CD, Explorer
Of Life. Featuring ten tracks, Explorer Of Life leads off
with the title track “Explorer Of Life” and the entire album
burns its way through a wide range of electrifying, rock-based instrumental
guitar tracks, all spotlighting Charles playing a number of guitars,
synths and percussion. Combining all types of guitar performance—from
hard rock and jazz-rock fusion to classical guitar, guitarist / composer
Charles Brown has remained a popular exponent of progressive instrumental
rock guitar music for the past fifteen years. Bursting on the scene
with his 2000 album Mystics, Charles has released a number
of extraordinary instrumental albums over the years and his 2017 album
Explorer Of Life is his finest CD yet. www.facebook.com/charlesbrownguitarist
CORNER
STORE JAZZ – Iowa born / New Jersey based guitarist Jim
Yanda recorded his double CD set, Home Road in 2014
although it didn’t come out till 2016. For fans of Jim’s
excellent guitar skills it’s time well spent. On the double CD
set, recorded by Jim Yanda Trio, Jim receives backing from
his trio mates, Drew Gress (bass) and Phil Haynes (drums).
Not only does Yanda shine as an improvising jazz guitar instrumentalist
but the CD set also shines a light on his compositional skills. All
the tracks were composed by Yanda except for a cover of “My Ship”,
written by Kurt Weill. Not fusion and not quite mainstream jazz either,
Home Road takes the jazz-based, guitar instrumental genre into
relaxing and calm sonic waters. Also recent on CD from Jim Yanda is
a 2017 CD release of his trio album Regional Cooking,
recorded in 1987. Guitar fans into jazz improv will find much
to like about Jim Yanda and Home Road. www.cornerstorejazz.com
ECM
RECORDS – Based in France, guitarist-composer Dominic
Miller released his first ECM Records album in 2017. Featuring
Miller on guitar and acoustic bass, the all instrumental album is
very acoustic sounding in nature and even features a tribute to Brazilian
guitarist Baden Powell called Baden. For many years, Miller has also
been the guitarist for singer-songwriter Sting and Silent Light
even features a cover of Sting’s “Fields Of Gold”,
done here as a hushed instrumental. Miller’s liner notes are
also telling in that he recalls spending time discussing music with
ECM honcho Manfred Eicher and topics that came up included Miller’s
fondness for Egberto Gismonti and Pat Metheny—two world class
guitarists who built a lot of their international fame upon their
now-fabled ECM albums back in the late 1970s. Like those guitarists,
Miller is an expert at conjuring a range of ambient moods and musical
arrangements that he brings to the fore on the tastefully recorded
Silent Light. On hand backing up Miller is the subdued backing
of percussionist Miles Bould, but the main attraction on Silent
Light is very much Miller’s swiftly executed acoustic-based
guitar melodies and improvisations. www.dominicmiller.com
ELEKTROHASCH
– A German label on the cutting edge of contemporary Kraut-rock,
Elektrohasch released a 2017 CD called In Her Garden,
by the instrumental power trio Colour Haze. Guitars and
vocals are supplied by Stefan Koglek and the trio is fleshed
out by the rock-solid rhythm section of Tim Höfer (drums)
and Christian Wiesner (bass). While the majority of music here
is instrumental in scope, Koglek adds in the occasional vocal, which
brings in a kind of heavy metal touch on an otherwise progressive
sounding instrumental rock guitar outing. The Colour Haze sound has
been called a kid of “Doom Psycore” or “Goth-punk-jazz”
and “Krautwave”. Either way, Koglek’s guitar is incredible
sounding and on In Her Garden, Koglek pushes his name right
up their with German guitar heroes like Michael Rother and even more
recently Alan J. Bound. Colour Haze revels in a kind of 21st century
power trio inspired by the likes of Cream, Hendrix and Grand Funk
Railroad. Touches of German sonic engineering makes the Colour Haze
album In Her Garden a vital slice of 21st century instrumental
Euro rock. www.elektrohasch.de
/ www.colourhaze.de
ENGLISH
ELECTRIC RECORDINGS – Prog-rock favourites Big Big Train
returned in a big way in 2017 with Grimspond.
The eight track CD combines progressive rock with more complex
instrumental sections. Speaking about the album, lead singer David
Longdon says, ‘Grimspond has followed on very swiftly
from our 2016 album Folklore. We found ourselves with a wealth of
new material and we have been able to move the band’s sound forward.’
Bass player Greg Spawton adds, ‘There is some complex
music on this album, with extended instrumental sections alongside
vocal passages.’ The instrumental side of this latest Big
Big Train album will provide interest among instrumental rock fans
while the band’s legendary progressive rock sound comes well
into focus on Grimspond making it a good choice for Big Big
Train devotees. www.bigbigtrain.com
ESOTERIC
ANTENNA – Progressive rock guitar hero Steve Hackett is
on a roll in 2017. The release of his latest solo album, The
Night Siren is being called his greatest studio album yet.
In 2016, Steve’s affiliation with Inside Out Records yielded
an excellent two CD / two DVD set called The Total Experience
Live In Liverpool. That four disc set featured a cross
section of classics from his 2015 CD Wolflight as
well as a range of tracks recorded with Genesis back in the 1970s,
topped off by a “Behind The Scenes Documentary” and several
Wolflight videos. Even with so much going on this year, Steve
also found time to release a double CD/DVD disc set called Summer
Storms & Rocking Rivers. Credited to Steve Hackett
& Djabe, the release pairs the Genesis guitar icon with the
Hungarian jazz fusion band Djabe. Recorded live in 2011 and
2012, the CD and DVD features a number classic Hackett and Genesis
tracks reworked by this unique and totally fortuitous pairing as well
as a short documentary called “Rocking Summer Roads” and
the piece “Jacuzzi / Overnight Sleeper”, recorded in November
2013 with another bonus track called “Tears For Peace”.
Fans are probably familiar with many of the Hackett / Genesis tracks
covered here yet few are familiar with the band Djabe and as it turns
out, the band’s relationship with Steve goes all the way back
to 2007. The CD/DVD release of Summer Storms & Rocking Rivers
proves that the music of Steve Hackett and Genesis transcends countries
and borders and is, in fact, timeless and eternal. www.cherryred.co.uk
FIRE
RECORDS / LAKESHORE RECORDS – UK-based Fire Records
keeps on releasing cutting-edge albums and to that list you can add
Fire’s original television soundtrack to Halt And Catch
Fire. Composed and created by Austrian composer Paul
Haslinger, the 23 track, 39 minute CD is very much reflective
of Haslinger’s brief tenure with the 1980’s version of Tangerine
Dream. The album is being released on vinyl and CD pressing under
the subtitled name Mutiny. Apparently, the music on this Fire
Records release of Halt And Catch Fire TV soundtrack is kind
of a re-recorded artifact of Haslinger’s work during the 1980s.
Like T. Dream, Haslinger’s musical score is cold and very Teutonic
with its oscillating synths and pulsating rhythms. Culled from the
2014-2015 TV series, the soundtrack to Halt And Catch Fire was
licensed by Fire Records from the soundtrack kings of L.A. based Lakeshore
Records. If you enjoyed Tangerine Dream, especially during their mid
1980s era you will enjoy Paul Haslinger’s Halt And Catch Fire.
Another hot title (pardon the pun) on Fire is a 22 track CD soundtrack
for the movie A Scanner Darkly by composer Graham
Reynolds. It’s unclear when the movie came out but the CD
is set for release in August 2017. The music features an eclectic
mix of soundtrack electronica, along with a host of Americana effects,
most notably the Santo & Johnny effect on track four called “Strawberry
Pie”. Calling the music of Graham Reynolds eclectic and evocative
would be an understatement, yet on A Scanner Darkly, composer
Graham Reynolds overhauls and revolutionizes the entire music soundtrack
genre. www.firerecords.com
FIRE
RECORDS – Sometimes it’s good to completely forget about
the past. In 50 years most people here today will be long gone so
if we forget everything we ever knew now, it might be in our best
interest. Seriously, in a world of flashing facebook / youtube cyber
web soundbytes, even most long time music fans don’t remember
what happened yesterday. Case in point is rising guitarist Sarah
Lipstate and her 2017 CD as the artist called Noveller,
called A Pink Sunset For No One. Rising out of
the bayou country of Louisiana and settling in the Golden State, effectively
switching LA. for L.A., Ms. Lipstate leaves her brutal red state past
behind for a shining city on the hill with A Pink Sunset For No
One. Somewhere between New Age music and some unknown sonic destination
of the future, the nine track A Pink Sunset For No One CD clocks
in under forty minutes yet the album takes you on a journey far beyond
space and time and mere names and states. Ms. Lipstate has played
concerts with Iggy Pop, which is hard to believe although less hard
to believe is her fondness for avant-garde music greats like Steve
Reich, Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca. There’s no shortage of
mind-blowing, all instrumental guitar –scapes on A Pink Sunset
For No One. The album shimmers and shines and effectively merges
an otherworldly Fripp / Eno – like backdrop with experimental
Hendrix-y type guitar musings that combine all manners of electronica.
Sometimes her wordless vocals shine through like sunlight peeking
through into an unknown inter planetary galaxy of sound. Cutting a
stunning figure on the 21st century guitar scene, with A Pink Sunset
For No One Sarah Lipstate surfs the wave of our collective, though
unknown fretboard futures. www.firerecords.com
GEOFF
ALPERT MUSIC – The sound of smooth jazz just got a whole
lot smoother with the 2017 CD release of Open Your Heart by
jazz trombone ace Geoff Alpert. I know the trombone isn’t
exactly the most popular instrument compared with guitar and keyboards,
yet Geoff makes his trombone sing sweetly and it almost sounds like
a trumpet. Open Your Heart features some excellent players
including guitarist Adam Hawley, the keyboards and preproduction
of Gail Jhonson, drummer Tony Moore and other players.
Alpert grew up digging the jazzy horn-driven sounds of the Brecker
Brothers, as well as horn driven jazz-rock bands like BS&T and
Chicago and he carries those grooves over on to his album. Tastefully
produced and full of upbeat grooves and earthy female backing vocals,
the mostly instrumental album will appeal to jazzers but it’s
more likely that smooth jazz fans will be in orbit with Geoff Alpert’s
Open Your Heart. www.geoffalpert.com
GREYDISC
– New
England based Kevin Kastning is on a roll these past few years.
Having released a number of collaboration albums with a range of musicians,
Kevin is back with his third solo album in as many years with the
2017 CD release of A Connection Of Secrets. Like
many of the classic ECM albums recorded in Europe, Kevin’s solo
music is ripe with a unique sense 
of
guitar exploration that he fufillls thanks to his recording with a
range of peculiar looking instruments, including his 36 string Double
Contraguitar. Much of the music he records is quite experimental and
improvisational and on A Connection Of Secrets, Kevin’s
use of pioneering instruments like the 36 string Double Contraguitar,
the 30 string Contra Alto and the 15 string Extended Classical guitar
fills in all the sonic spaces. Also of note is the inclusion on a
track here of a nine foot Kawai grand piano, which shines a light
on Kastning’s famous, though lesser heard keyboard skills. Even
though there’s a corresponding line of sonic reasoning running
through much of Kastning’s work, on A Connection Of Secrets,
his sound remains unique and inspired. When asked about the title
of his new album, Kevin adds, “If I give that away, then it’s
no longer a secret! I’ll say it had to do with how some of the
pieces are conneted.” Also speaking to mwe3.com about why
he chose to also feature his piano work on A Connection Of Secrets,
Kevin explains, “I played a little piano on a record with
Sandor Szabo that was recorded during the 2012 European Tour, called
The Book Of Crossings, but it was very little and mostly in the background."
As is the case with the three Kevin Kastning solo albums and his
various group-related projects on Greydisc, A Connection Of Secrets
benefits from excellent album artwork and liner notes that indicates
what guitars were played on what tracks. Also of note on his 2017
album is that the album also features mixing and mastering by Greydisc
recording artist Sándor Szabó, done in his studio
in Vác, Hungary. The latest album of groundbreaking, often
startling fretboard magic by Kevin Kastning, A Connection Of Secrets
is a sonic joyride from start to finish.
www.kevinkastning.com
GREYDISC
– Sonic explorers Kevin Kastning and Mark Wingfield
break the sound barrier yet again with their sixth duo album—the
2017 release of The Line To Three. With nine
new compositions, The Line To Three is mysterious and deep
sounding. A favorite among avant-garde radio stations and music critics
all over the world, Kastning and Wingfield arrive with yet a new kind
of sound again on The Line To Three. Featuring Wingfield’s
electric guitar, live electronics and prerecorded soundtracks laying
down a kind of sonic carpet, The Line To Three is fleshed out
by Kastning’s perceptive explorations on 30-string Contra-Alto
guitar, 15-string Extended Classical guitar, piano and percussion.
What makes The Line To Three unique in their canon is Kastning
further developing his acoustic piano sound to further balance Wingfield’s
electric / electronic styles and for the most part, the album is quite
thrilling and entertaining to witness. Perhaps it’s that their
musical chemistry is getting more refined with each passing album
and that both Kastning and Wingfield are both improving as musicians
and composers. That being the case, it’s all the more mind-boggling
to learn that like their other albums, The Line To Three was
recorded live in the studio as a live performance without the safety
net of overdubbing. In a crowded field of talented American and English
instrumentalists, and specifically guitarists / composers, The
Line To Three stands out as a brilliant example of creative musical
wizardry at its finest. Speaking about recording with the piano on
The Line To Three, Kevin explains, "The piano is the
same Kawaii as I used on A Connection of Secrets. Not prepared in
any way. My approach with piano vs. guitar when recording with Wingfield
is very different. One example is that with guitars, I might at times
be looking to blend our guitar voices to create a larger, more symphonic
guitar voice. With piano, that obviously can't happen, so I am thinking
in different compositional terms, and attempting to construct different
textures and fabrics. It's pure contrast, not blend. And with piano,
what I play stands in much sharper contrast against Wingfield, so
I can't approach piano in any of the same ways that I would for guitar.
I have to conceive of everything differently; to construct everything
differently. And I always approach anything I do on piano differently
from anything I do on guitars; I'm never trying to take something
I'd do or conceive of on guitars and try to make it work on piano
or attempt to play the same thing; it's impossible for me." When
pressed about the title and cover art Kevin tells mwe3.com "The
album title is taken from an older composition of ours. It fit this
record because with the new additions of the prerecorded soundscapes,
piano, and percussion, it seemed almost like a trio record instead
of a duo record. 'The line' is our historic line of evolution from
pure duo into this record which is more like a trio; hence the "three"
in the title. The cover art is from a photograph by the great Hungarian
photographer Laszlo Hutton. It was shot inside a Buddhist monastery
in Tibet. There are hints in the photo that tie in to the title".
www.kevinkastning.com
/ www.markwingfield.com
HOME
RECORDS – Belgium has a tradition of fine Gypsy jazz and
to that list you can add the album Tyto Alba from the
trio called Green Moon. The first thing that grabs you is the
album artwork that is startling. The trio features Gypsy jazz guitarist
Teo Crommen (guitars, mandolin), Lorcan Fahy (violin,
mandolin) and Lucas Deru (double bass). Guest artists playing
harmonica, trumpet, cello and drums add more depth to the sound of
the album. Tyto Alba is an instrumental music mix of Gypsy
jazz, Celtic inspired soundtracks and a touch of Euro-blues. Liner
notes in both French and English provides a fanciful twist on the
very appealing and scenic sounding Tyto Alba by Green Moon.
www.homerecords.be
JERUJAZZ
RECORDS – Chicago-based Joe Policastro Trio hits a
sonic sweet spot of 21st century instrumental music with the 2017
CD release of Screen Sounds. Screen as in the
big screen with Joe and his trio offering up eleven splendid, jazzy
instrumentals, including renowned movie themes and television theme
songs from Twin Peaks, Blade Runner, Taxi and an excellent
8 minute medley of John Barry music from Midnight Cowboy. A
renowned bass player, Joe receives fine backing from Dave Miller
(guitar) and Mikel Avery (drums). On their third album
trio together, the mix of Policastro’s bass and Miller’s
guitar works magic taking the album into a range of moods and sounds
and Avery keeping pace with the kinetic sounding musical ideas. The
studio sound of Screen Sounds is excellent and the humorous
CD cover art gives a good indication of the fun in store for music
fans. www.thejptrio.com
KERANI
MUSIC - Belgian-born, Holland-based keyboardist / composer Kerani,
made a lot of people happy with her 2015 CD Equilibrium and
she’s poised to make the same people even more happy with her
2017 album called Stardust. The ten-track CD
is a fully-developed symphonic-sounding New Age masterpiece that draws
upon, and combines, a range of musical genres. Featuring Kerani performing
on Steinway & Sons grand piano and all types of electronic synths,
Stardust also features key contributions from 
the
Roermond Symphonic Orchestra and the Canto Rinato choir.
The sweep of the orchestration is brilliant throughout and some of
the Stardust tracks echoes Pink Floyd during their highly-orchestrated
Atom Heart Mother heyday while other tracks are more purely
orchestral New Age / electronic in scope. A number of musicians appear
including Terry Oldfield (flutes), Romain Van Beck (guitars),
Erwin Gielen (drums) and many more. With its futuristic artwork
and insightfully written essays, the theme of Stardust is space
exploration and descriptive liner notes by Kabir Sehgal make
strong points as to outer space being man’s best hope for the
future. The CD booklet is a kind of history lesson in and of itself,
while featuring a number of historic figures quoted as it relates
to space exploration or in the case of the early 21st century, the
sad lack thereof. The combination of neoclassical, progressive electronica
and New Age instrumental sounds is brilliantly explored and celebrated
on Kerani’s latest masterpiece, Stardust. www.kerani.nl
KULUMO
MUSIC – Back in the late 1970’s, Pekka Tegelman was
the guitarist in the Finnish band Finnforest, who released several
critically acclaimed instrumental jazz-rock fusion albums on the now
defunct Love Records label. Tegelman released his long awaited return
to the jazz-rock world in 2010 with the CD called Bound and
in 2017, after several vocal projects, Pekka is back on track again
with Pekka Tegelman & Quartegel. The nine
track CD features Pekka on electric / acoustic guitars, keyboards
with the aid of Markku Ounaskari (drums), Manuel Dunkel
(sax) and Tero Siitonen (double bass). Mixing and mastering
in California by Pekka’s brother and former Finnforest drummer
Jussi Tegelman enhances the album as does additional percussion
by Pete Korpela. Dunkel’s sax work tends to dominate the
album which also features some excellent guitar work by Pekka. Fans
of Finnforest, especially their Demonights album from 1979,
will find much to like about the freewheeling, improvisational jazzy
fusion sound of Pekka Tegelman & Quartegel. www.digelius.com
LOU
PECCI MUSIC - On his 2016 CD, Cinema Standards On Guitar,
Lou Pecci cut a whole album of standard songs everyone knows and loves.
In 2017, Lou is back with his long promised instrumental guitar tribute
to the music of the late great Elvis Presley. Elvis, of course, wasn't
fully known as a songwriter but a song stylist, which isn't to say
he didn't have an ear for great songwriters, he did. On the ten-track
2017 CD release of Rare Elvis Six String, Lou
once again blends his deftly performed acoustic and electric guitars
and inherent fretboard percussion on an album of all instrumentals
that is filled with surprises. Kicking off with "Crawfish",
from the the 1958 Elvis movie King Creole, Lou's new album moves on
to feature guitar instrumentals of music Elvis sang and featured in
his world renowned movies Fun In Acapulco, Viva Las Vegas,
Double Trouble and more. Lou's covers of "That's Someone
You Never Forget" and "You'll Be Gone" are two songs
that Elvis Presley actually had a hand in writing, as is mentioned
in Lou's liner notes. The CD closes out with Lou's guitar instrumental
cover of the Hank Williams-penned "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry",
a song Elvis called "probably the saddest song I've ever heard",
and that Elvis covered on his 1973 television show, Aloha From
Hawaii". On Rare Elvis Six String, guitarist Lou Pecci
puts an all instrumental guitar spin of some of Elvis Presley's more
rare recordings and comes up with something new and different for
both guitar fans and Elvis fans. www.CDbaby.com
MACK
AVENUE / ARTISTRY MUSIC – One of the best jazz labels
in the US, Mack Avenue and their Artistry imprint released a 2017
CD called Main Street Beat, by horn man / keyboard
wiz Jackiem Joynner. With its mix of upbeat, jazzy / funky
instrumentals, you’d be hard-pressed to find another album as
upbeat and groove-based as Jackiem’s latest. A wide range of
players assist Jackiem including Raymond Johnson (drums), Kyle
Bolden (guitar), Carnell Harrell (keys), Darryl Williams
(bass) and many others. The eleven track album was recorded in
different studios in L.A. Regarding the making of the album, Jackiem
adds, “I wanted to create something upbeat, fun to listen to
and something to dance to. Main Street Beat originally started
off as a straight funk record that eventually became some of that,
but a whole lot more as I allowed the creative process to have its
way with me.” Jackiem also claims that the very upbeat nature
of Main Street Beat was enhanced by his young daughter Trinity.
Whether your thing is funky instrumentals, smooth jazz or state of
the art jazz sax playing, Jackiem Joyner covers all the bases on his
great 2017 CD Main Street Beat. www.jackiemjoyner.com
NATURAL
ELEMENTS RECORDS – In 2015, guitarist / composer Jim Stubblefield
released his album Encantado and in 2017 he returns with
Guitare Mystique. Purposely spelled in a mystical
way, the ten track album takes on a wide range of musical styles,
including a kind of ancient-sounding approach to the magical guitar.
Guitare Mystique picks up on the approach of Encantado as
well as Jim’s work with the band Incendio, yet there’s more
new ground broken here. Using the Contemporary Instrumental sound
as a jumping off point, there’s a range of inspired-sounding
guitar genres explored, including a slightly gothic or even medieval
sort of 
sound.
For example, the addition of strings on track seven “Moonlight
Requiem” gives the track a sort of modern neoclassical sound,
kind of Electric Light Orchestra sans vocals, if you can imagine.
Track nine, “Rumba Furiosa, Opus 2” features Jim supported
by the daredevil electric guitar work of guitar ace Dan Sistos.
Jim has chosen a remarkable bunch of musicians to help execute his
sound on Guitare Mystique, including co-producer and album
mixer Bo Astrup, guitarists Stephen Duros, Dan Sistos
(mentioned above) and Eric Hansen, bass ace Randy Tico,
drummers Ramon Yslas and Bryan Brock as well as Moksha
Sommer (vocals) and Novi Novog (strings). The CD sound
is first rate and the album artwork is colorful and quite imaginative,
all adding to the sense of fun and excitement. Guitare Mystique
takes the entire 21st century Contemporary / World Fusion instrumental
guitar sound to new heights. Start to finish, Guitare Mystique
is clearly the most well-rounded album yet from the imaginative,
guitar-centric mind of Jim Stubblefield. www.GuitarraExotica.com
NEPTIC
MUSIC – Released in early 2017, Part Of A Kindly Plan
features a range of appealing new music from multi-instrumentalist
Nathan Speir. Nathan recorded the CD by himself and features
multi-tracked instrumentals that feature his work on grand piano,
cello, nylon and steel string guitar as well as light percussion.
Subtle synths appear in the background. The CD is very diverse sounding
and some tracks are more keyboard centric while others feature more
guitars. Primarily New Age in scope, Part Of A Kindly Plan will
appeal to listeners of modern classical music as well as meditative
Americana instrumental. Nathan Speir has several CD releases to his
credit and his excellent sounding and well-conceived 2017 album Part
Of A Kindly Plan will find a place in the music collections of
fans and newcomers alike. www.nathanspeir.com
NERISSA
SCHWARZ MUSIC -– Germany-based musician / composer Nerissa
Schwarz is making sonic waves of joy with her 2016 solo album
Playgrounds Lost. Much like the title of the
album, the music on Playgrounds Lost is both haunting and ethereal.
In the progressive music community, much has been said about Nerissa’s
mellotron-based compositions and througout her album, there’s
plenty of dark, mellotron soaked hues that drift in and out of the
sound spectrum like passing clouds over the sonic terrain. The music
on Playgrounds Lost was written, arranged, produced and performed
by Nerissa, yet the entire album is well done and 
sounds
absolutely mesmerizing. Speaking about her initial introduction to
the 'tron, Nessisa tells mwe3.com, “I think I heard the mellotron
for the very first time in King Crimson's “Epitaph”, when
I was a teenager. I remember the strings sound giving me goosebumps,
although I didn't know what it was back then. Later I heard the mellotron
in a lot of music I loved, like Genesis or early Tangerine Dream,
but also newer music such as Radiohead or Portishead, and I gradually
fell in love with its quirky, wobbling, warm and beautiful sounds.”
In addition to her evolving solo career, Nerissa has also recorded
several albums with the band Frequency Drift, and with Playgrounds
Lost she will undoubtedly win over a faction of the progressive
music audience looking for bold, current musical ideas. Fans of the
time-honored mellotron and all forms of New Age inspired instrumental
music, as well as ethereal movie soundtracks, will find much to like
about Nerissa Schwarz and her Playgrounds Lost album. www.nerissaschwarz.com
OKEH
RECORDS -- The label called Okeh looms over the 21st century Americana
sound and capping their vision is the 2016 CD by Minnesota jazzers
The Bad Plus. Featuring Ethan Iverson (Steinway piano),
Reid Anderson (double bass) and David King (drums),
the Bad Plus sound borders on the sublime and they’re at their
most sublime on It’s Hard. There’s
hardly a hard note in sight but they’ve chosen to present yet
another album of sonically rewarding deconstructed pop classics written
by a number of composers / artists, with the end game giving the whole
thing a kind of surreal yet foreboding sense of things to come. Case
in point being a spine-tingling Bad Plus take on the song “Mandy”,
which was actually made popular in 1974 by singer Barry Manilow. With
Iverson’s piano truly attaining a major crescendo, the song takes
on a new meaning with a sonic tact that is totally startling. Ditto
that for Iverson’s mesmerizing McCoy Tyner / Keith Emerson influence
on Cindy Lauper’s “Time After Time”. Johnny Cash, Kraftwerk,
Peter Gabriel, Prince and more are given the Bad Plus sonic jazz sheen
on the eleven track album. With It’s Hard, The Bad Plus
meets the awesome challenge of 21st century jazz, head on. www.thebadplus.com
ORIGIN
RECORDS – Origin is one of the most prolific American jazz
record labels. Based in Washington state, Origin has released music
by artists who cover just about every type of instrumental jazz. For
jazz guitar fans it doesn’t get a whole lot better than the 2017
CD release of Parts Unknown by guitarist John
McLean and The Clark Sommers Band. Pairing McLean on
guitar and Clark Sommers on bass, the quartet is filled with
vibes master Joe Locke and drummer Xavier Breaker. The
music on the CD is a mix of originals written by Locke, Sommers and
McLean. Recorded in Chicago, Parts Unknown sounds superb and
the music is highly entertaining. The mix of McLean’s jazzy sounding
electric guitar and Locke’s vibes is magic and the rhythm section
of Sommers and Breaker keeps the sound in perfect motion. Parts
Unknown is 21st century mainstream instrumental fusion at its
finest. It’s guitars galore on the 2017 CD release of Day
And Night by Tom Rizzo. Recorded in L.A. at the end
of 2015, the eleven track CD mixes Rizzo originals with covers of
classics from the pens of Cole Porter, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Colemen,
Stevie Wonder and Henry Mancini. There’s even a bluesy cover
of “House Of The Rising Sun”, which works wonders under
Rizzo’s jazzy, instrumental leadership. Rizzo’s band is
excellent and he also gets primo support from a range of horn players
who appear on certain tracks. More in the straight ahead jazz guitar
vein is Quartet Plus, Volume 2 by guitarist Mason
Razavi. Mason’s ten track 2017 Origin Records CD features
him in the studio with a full band and horn section. The album’s
nine originals are enhanced by a CD closing cover of Duke Ellington’s
“Caravan”. Recorded in Oakland, California, Quartet Plus
is 21st century mainstream jazz at its finest. Origin continues
breaking ground for 21st century guitar-based instrumental jazz with
these three excellent albums. www.originarts.com
OUR
SILENT CANVAS – Based in Woodstock, NY, Our Silent Canvas
released Still Love by Ghost Against Ghost. I
remember when Robert Fripp decided he didn’t want to have pop
hits with the original King Crimson, he went into an early form of
shock rock or shock-prog. Mostly instrumental, on Still Love,
Ghost Against Ghost evokes the spirit of early 1970s King Crimson
and then some. The band is a centerpiece for Brooklyn resident Christopher
Bono, who achieves a wide range of amazingly recorded sounds.
According to his web site, Bono looks at music as sonic architecture
filled with alien and psychic sculptures, which he derived after listening
to the music of Stravinsky. Is Ghost Against Ghost the answer to Stravinsky
in the 21st century? Several cuts feature Bono’s Sting-like vocals
yet, structurally the devastating instrumental sonic assault of Ghost
Against Ghost could also be looked at as being modern day classical
in nature. Bono cites Pink Floyd during their Dark Side era,
and the music of electronic classicist Vangelis and also Black Sabbath
as well as other post-rock artists as big influences. Millennials,
and veteran neo-proggers should find these reasons enough to enjoy
Ghost Against Ghost. www.ghostagainstghost.com
PRISMISM
MUSIC – Guitarist Neil Rambaldi came to the attention
of mwe3.com back in 2002 during his Perpetual Horizon album.
Following years of doing soundtrack and television music, Neil returns
in 2017 with his long awaited comeback A Call To The Wild.
Musically, the all instrumental album is steeped in a well-honed
fusion of blues and rock instrumentals in the spirit of Jeff Beck,
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Trower and more. The 13 track, 67 minute
CD is well produced and Neil plays a range of electric / acoustic
classical guitars, and with all the instruments it sounds like a full
band. Neil’s background as an electric guitar superstar, a multi-instrumentalist
and a music producer comes sharply into focus on A Call To The
Wild. www.neilrambaldi.com
RAHUL
MUKERJI MUSIC – Indian born / Maryland-based guitarist Rahul
Mukerji is making waves with his 2017 CD called Ma De Re
Sha. Rahul’s music is very cinematic and his fleet
fingered guitar work sounds influenced by masters such as Jeff Beck,
Jan Akkerman and Al DiMeola. All instrumental, Ma De Re Sha
takes its cues from a mix of driving, electronic instrumentals and
Indian 
flavored,
guitar-based instrumental soundtracks, which is so popular in Indian
movies. Speaking about his wild mix of mystical Indian modalities
meets Western jazz-rock fusion in the following interview, Rahul tells
mwe3.com, "To be absolutely frank, I was more drawn to Western
music, as far back as I can remember. I was certainly exposed to classical
Indian music, but as a child I never really understood it and consequently
never really appreciated it." Performing all guitars, guitar
synth, e-bow and programming, Rahul adds in sampled sounds, tablas
for a traditional Indian percussive effect and modern drum programming
to give the sound a solid rock edge. Ruben Rubio adds bass
and Bruce is on additional drums and programming. Rahul Mukerji
picks up from golden era of 1970s fusion and blends in a dose of 1980s
electronic synth rock on his well-timed 2017 album Ma De Re Sha.
www.mukerji.us
REAL
MUSIC – In
2017, the prodigious Real Music label released Breathe,
the second CD on the label by synthesist Carl Borden. The
nine track, 58 minute Breathe is very monolithic in parts and,
with its waves of sound approach, it’s also quite relaxing and
even haunting in places. The CD combines slowly unfolding New Age
meditation music with a soundtrack type of sonic experience, yet it’s
Borden’s equally mysterious nature of composition that makes
Breathe such a special sounding 
experience.
When questioned aboust his unique wall of sound approach to music
writing and recording, Carl offers, "Indeed,
I find that slow moving soundscapes can help you slow your mind down
after a hectic day. After going through the morning and afternoon
commute, meetings and deadlines, unexpected circumstances that may
come up during the day, there is nothing better than coming home and
relaxing to soothing music that allows you to unwind and ease you
into the evening."
On
Breathe, the music is accompanied by a variety of intriguing
nature sounds, including ocean waves, which gives the music an even
more mercurial sound. From the liner notes Borden concludes, “This
album is called Breathe because we all have gone through situations
that can rock you to your core. It is at those moments in life that
we must collect ourselves and try to grasp the situation, take a step
back, and breathe.” A masterpiece of 21st century instrumental
electronica, Breathe follows the Real Music release of Borden’s
2015 award-winning Echoes of Bliss. www.facebook.com
/ www.carlborden.com
/ www.realmusic.com
RICK
SPARKS MUSIC – The lure and scenic attraction of big cities
has always had its appeal. New York and Los Angeles have had songs
written about them and I guess that’s where South Carolina composer
/ keyboardist Rick Sparks got the inspiration for his 2017
CD called Nightfall London. Commenting on the
ten track CD, Rick says, “The idea of night falling on a great
city like London intrigued me with the possibilities for musical adventure.”
With Rick handling all the solo piano and light synth strings backing,
the album comprises a kind of soundtrack for Rick’s fondness
for London town. In fact, the album is dedicated to Beatles producer
George Martin. Martin would have liked Rick’s Americanized tribute
to capital of progressive rock. With his affinity for George Martin’s
impeccable studio vision, Rick’s album is much more rooted in
the New Age and meditative / orchestral musical realms. Speaking about
Sir George Rick adds, “The enduring legacy of Sir George Martin
was a constant inspiration to me in my arrangements, especially the
string parts”. Rick might be unknown but he’s been around,
including on-stage backing for legends like The 5th Dimension and
others. Rick Sparks refines his ‘less is more’ New Age piano
/ synth sound on the sublime sounding Nightfall London. www.ricksparksmusic.net
SPHERIC
MUSIC – Germany based Spheric Music is keeping the spirit
of European instrumental Jazz Fusion music alive since 1991 with a
series of new music and reissues by key German artists. Reissued on
CD in 2017 is Touch The Sky released in 1992, featuring
electronic music synthesist Rudolph Heimann. In the spirit
of instrumental rock music released by Mike Oldfield and Alan Parsons
Project, Heimann’s synthesizer driven music also sounds influenced
by Jean Michel Jarre while the electric guitar is played by Holger
Stausberg. The hard driving drums are played by Heimann at least
through programming yet the drum sound throughout is excellent. Heimann’s
instrumental fusion sound borrows from electronic music and also smooth
jazz, with its endless upbeat riffs and rhythmic patterns. Released
by Spheric in 2016 is a 25th anniversary CD sampler with a range of
tracks from artists who have albums on the label, including e-music
legend Klaus Schulze, Spheric Music founder Lambert Ringlage,
Robert Schroeder and many more artists, including Rudolph Heimann,
that gets deep into the Spheric back catalog of electronic, instrumental,
New Age meets jazzy fusion music. www.sphericmusic.de
SOUNDS
RECORDS – Based in Finland, The Sounds returned after
many years in 2011 and they put together their comeback album in 2015.
Finally making the rounds over continents, Live At Arcada Studios
is the comeback album by The Sounds & Rock Jerry.
The instrumental rock sound of The Sounds owes much to the legends
of UK and Swedish instrumental, such as The Shadows and Spotnicks.
Adding in vocalist Rock Jerry (real name Kaj Järnström),
the band hits a veritable sweet spot with this eleven track, live
in the studio that mixes in a number of Shadows style instrumentals
and several rock & roll oldies sung by Rock 
Jerry.
The instrumentals are excellent and Jerry’s vocals on classics
like “Mystery Train”, “Singin’ The Blues”
and more is another vintage offset to the more timeless instrumental
sounds. An unusual,, guitar-centric instro of The Beatles “Long
And Winding Road” is elegant as is the CD closing cover of The
Shadows 1965 classic “Blue Sky Blue Sea Blue Me”. Speaking
about the long and winding wait between the 1960s era of The Sounds
and their comeback album, group cofounder Peter Ekman told
mwe3.com, "The Sounds took a pause in 1965 as the members
went back to school and started to study. We started to play again
after a pause of 45 years, when three of the four original members
rejoined. The original lead guitarist Henrik Granö left the group
on spring 2014 and was replaced by Erkki Sutela. We recorded in 1963–1965,
about ten singles and one LP. Because of the long break we made no
recordings were made until the Arcada CD. It was about 50 years between
the last recording 1965 and the Arcada CD." Fans of The Shadows,
The Beatles and Elvis-style 1950s rock ‘n’ roll oldies are
advised to check out the thoroughly entertaining Live
At Arcada Studios
by The Sounds and Rock Jerry. www.thesounds.fi
SOUNDSCAPE
PRODUCTIONS – Multi-instrumentalist Robert Rich is
a renaissance man of progressive music. On his latest epic called
Lift A Feather To The Flood, Rich joins forces
with German ambient guitar wunderkind Markus Reuter and the
results make for a beguiling hour of progressive instrumental music.
Combining electronica, New Age and a hybrid form of 21st century 
neoclassical
ambient music, Rich and Reuter make a compelling team. Some are comparing
Lift A Feather To The Flood to the late 1970 team of Harold
Budd and Eno and with Rich’s prepared / processed piano teaming
with Reuter’s touch guitar drones, there’s some valid point
to that, yet it’s 2017 now and Rich and Reuter are breaking new
ground in their own right. Rich is also an excellent mastering engineer
so you can be assured that the CD is perfectly balanced from a sonic
audiophile perspective as well. In addition, the six panel digipak
artwork is a pleasure to behold and actually enhances the listening
experience. www.robertrich.com
SPOTTED
PECCARY MUSIC – Portland-based Spotted Peccary Music was
founded back in the mid 1990s by Howard Givens, and his label
is still releasing excellent New Age electronic music albums in 2017.
A good recent example comes in the form of Legacy,
the fifth studio release on Spotted Peccary by Between Interval.
Featuring the music of Swedish composer Stefan Stand, the ten-track
CD is filled with imaginative soundscapes that blends electronic music
with a very sonically pleasing avant gard pallet of sounds and sound
effects. There are a lot of gifted electronic musicians recording
these days but Between Interval’s Legacy album is superbly
recorded, mixed and mastered. Also out on CD in 2017 on Spotted Peccary
is Secret Space Program by Norwegian electronic composer
Sverre Knut Johansen. Spotted Peccary must have cornered the
market from Scandinavia because both of these recent releases are
truly impressive in sound and scope. Of the two, Secret Space Program
is a little more futuristic sounding and is filled with sixteen
tracks of electronic music bliss. Keep your eyes on Spotted Peccary
for the best in 21st century electronic music. www.spottedpeccary.com
/ www.ambientelectronic.com
TIMOTHY
WENZEL MUSIC – A former scientist who went to explore New
Age music, keyboardist / composer Timothy Wenzel followed his
most recent solo efforts with his 2017 album called What We
Hold Dear. Featuring Timothy’s music, keyboards
and production, the twelve track CD features a number of backing musicians
on strings, as well as famed Windham Hill producer Corin Nelson,
who is responsible for the album mastering as well as the cello recording.
Timothy adds the concept of What We Hold Dear focuses on the
need to be thankful for “what we have rather than what we
don’t have.” Timothy’s music sounds inspired by
dreams, films, stories and nature scenery—hence the atmospheric
and sublime scope of his instrumental soundscapes. Some may view Timothy’s
music as being somber and sedate yet on the other hand, his music
is also quite spiritual and transformative. Speaking about the connection
between his careers in both music and science, Timothy explains,
‘Music and science have always been my two main passions. I see
a correlation between them. Scientific exploration is full of creativity
and is very much like writing a song. In both cases you start with
an idea and then explore the possibilities of where it can lead”.
As Timothy Wenzel sets out to prove on his latest instrumental New
Age masterpiece What We Hold Dear, the best music can be both
entertaining and thought-provoking. www.timothywenzel.com
ULTIMAE
RECORDS – Over in France, Ultimae Records continues breaking
new ground for 21st century experimental instrumental electronica
with the 2017 release of a double CD compilation called Polarity.
Featuring a mix of emotional and dark techno with a feel of melancholy
ambience, the 26-track double CD set features the work of sound designer
and mixer Arnaud Galoppe, who is known as Focal and
Kinosura. As indicated, there is a slightly minimalist approach
on Polarity. This isn’t orchestral or romantic sounding
New Age ala Jarre or Kerani, instead it borders on a kind of experimental
collage of different sounds created by many different artists that
are compiled and mixed by Focal for maximum impact. Ultimae has released
excellent electronica and chill-out albums from a range of artists
over the past decade and Polarity offers a fresh take on the
Ultimae approach to instrumental electronica. Music fans are well
aware of Ultimae’s downloads but their physical CD releases are
truly magnificent to behold, featuring excellent artwork and detailed
track info. The double CD release of Polarity takes the Ultimae
concept of electronica to a higher level of excellence and design.
www.ultimae.com
WHALING
CITY SOUNDS – Boston area Whaling City Sound have several
albums out by drummer / composer Gerry Gibbs and in 2017, they
released a double studio CD by Gerry Gibbs & Thrasher People.
A double CD set, Weather Or Not, is actually
a tribute album to jazz-fusion legends Weather Report. The second
CD here features a separate 16 track album featuring original music
by Gibbs, performed in trio format, subtitled “The Life Suite
1981-2016”. Gibbs is a first rate drummer and composer but, clearly
the sound of Weather Report dominates the proceedings on the 12 track
CD one and shines a vital light on just how brilliant Joe Zawinul
and company was during much of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Throughout
both CDs, Gibbs performs admirably on drums, percussion, electronics
and the occasional voice insertion and he get stellar backup from
Alex Collins (keyboards) and Hans Glawischnig (electric
/ acoustic bass). Gibbs incorporates flamenco, funk, calypso, Latin
jazz, R&B and swing into his own music and those same impeccable
skills lend themselves perfectly on his interpretations of classic
Weather Report. www.whalingcitysound.com
WHITE
GATES PUBLISHING – Jack Gates is a renowned guitarist
/ composer on the 21st century American instrumental guitar scene.
In 2014, Jack released his solo album, Voyage Of The Troubadour
and in 2017 he follows with a batch of all new studio tracks called
Bring The Flavors. Featuring Jack performing
on both nylon string guitars and electric guitars, sometimes in the
same song, the fourteen track, 55 minute Bring The Flavors
is filled with jazzy and meditative grooves that reflects Jack’s
interest in World 
Music,
especially Latin, Brazilian and South American music. Commenting on
Bring The Flavors, Jack explains, ‘This album was written
and recorded while I was living in a forest in the mountains above
Santa Cruz, California, where I was studying Tibetan Buddhism. The
music has a peaceful quality and is certainly an outgrowth of meditation
and being close to nature." Recorded in the mountains of
Northern California, Bring The Flavors features Jack in the
recording studio backed up by a band of like-minded players, including
the rhythm section of Steve Robertson (drums, percussion) and
Stan Poplin (acoustic bass), along with Damien Masterson
(harmonica) and Michal Palzewicz (cello). Jack Gates has
released a number of critically acclaimed solo albums over the years,
as well as playing and writing duo albums with sitar player Tim
White, who serves as remix advisor on Bring The Flavors. Blending
14 tracks of contemporary instrumental jazz, on Bring The Flavors
Jack Gates serves up a sublime mix of guitar-based sounds. www.jackgatesmusic.com
YAMAHA
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP – Smooth jazz fans will be in orbit with
the 2017 CD release of Reverence by bass ace Nathan
East. The twelve track CD was produced by Nathan and Chris
Gero, and it’s something of a superstar jam. Among the artists
appearing are Phil Collins (drums), Eric Clapton (guitar),
Chuck Loeb (guitar), Greg Phillinganes (keys), Chick
Corea (keys) and a whole lot more. Not only does Nathan handle
the bass work, both electric bass and fretless bass, but he also adds
in his vocals which are featured on various tracks, along with the
help of other excellent R&B and soul-pop singers. A new updated
version of the Earth, Wind & Fire track “Serpentine Fire”
features original EWF members Philip Bailey, Verdine White
and Ralph Johnson. Among the original tracks are upbeat
mostly instrumental covers of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”
and a new arrangement of the Wizard Of Oz classic “Over
The Rainbow”, arranged here by George Shearing, with the
addition of Nathan’s son Noah East and The Nashville
Recording Orchestra. Filled with a mix of smooth jazz instrumental
and soul-pop vocal tracks, Nathan East’s Reverence should
have wide, across the board appeal among music fans. www.nathaneastbass.com
/ www.nathaneast.com
REISSUES
& RETROSPECTIVES
ANGEL
AIR RECORDS – Hats off to the great English label Angel Air
for their 20 years of devotion to classic UK pop and rock. Having
retooled the entire back catalog of Stackridge, Angel Air have lately
been working with Yardbirds’ cofounder Jim McCarty on
a number of projects, including the 2017 CD reissue of the 2000 album
by Renaissance called Through The Fire. Actually,
the band by then was called Renaissance Illusion, combining
the names of two bands McCarty founded with Keith Relf and
Keith’s sister Jane Relf, who sings on Through The
Fire. The Yardbirds’ story is intricate and complex and you’d
need a fine tooth comb to fully absorb all the music made by The Yardbirds
and their many incredible offshoot bands. Like many of McCarty’s
post-Yardbirds album-related projects—including the first two
Renaissance albums—this Renaissance Illusion album features key
contributions from Renaissance cofounders John Hawken (piano)
and Louis Cennamo (bass). The 12 track Through The Fire
CD, (complete with the two bonus cuts) reflects McCarty’s
fascination with Buddhism, with the rock hall of famer adding,
“There was a lot of spiritual intent in this album and a lot
of spiritual feeling contained within it.” The liner notes
by Jeff Perkins are exemplary and fill in a lot of the missing
pieces with shiny shards of vital information about the music all
the players on hand. With the ghost / spirit of Keith Relf smiling
down from heaven, Renaissance Illusion carries on the spirit, feel
and grandeur started by The Yardbirds way back in the mid 1960s. www.angelair.co.uk
BGO
RECORDS – Swedish guitarist Janne Schaffer is well
known in circles of jazz-rock fusion fans. Throughout his career,
starting in the early 1970s as the lead guitarist with Swedish pop
superstars ABBA, Janne (pronounded “Ya-knee”) has released
album after album of scintillating guitar-based jazz fusion. During
his heyday of the mid 1980s, Janne released incredibly influential
albums such as the Traffic album from 1985. Now at 71, Janne
is resting easy on the laurels of a well done career, yet labels keep
reissuing key albums from his star-studded career. England’s
BGO keeps the legacy burning bright with a double CD set featuring
three of Janne’s late 1970s albums on CBS Records, then home
of Columbia and Epic Records. Released together on the 2017 
Janne
Schaffer double CD set on BGO is Katharsis (1976), Earmeal
(1978) and Presens (1980). The musicians on
these albums reads like a who’s who of Sweden’s best players,
including the late, great Bjorn J:son Lindh (flutes, keys),
Peter Sundell (drums) and others, with the icing on the cake
being the contributions of international music superstars John
“Rabbit” Bundrick, member of the UK prog group Quatermass
and Toto drummer Jeff Pocaro. Liner notes by Charles Waring
are exemplary and shed some informative background on Sweden’s
greatest guitar export. Also out in 2017 on BGO is a double CD set
from Canadian jazz-rock pioneers Lighthouse, featuring the
albums Lighthouse (1969), Suite Feeling (also
1969) and Peacing It All Together (1970). Their biggest
hit “One Fine Morning” came out 1971 and isn’t on this
double CD set but there’s enough horn-driven jazz-rock sounds
to make BGO's Lighthouse double CD set of interest among fans of other
early fusion bands like Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Among
their 2017 remasters, BGO also has a double CD set from 1960s American
folk-rock legends The Youngbloods. From their 1970 and ’71
period on Warner Brothers Records, the BGO double set includes Rock
Festival (1970), Ride The Wind and Good
And Dusty (1971). This BGO double compliments their earlier
Youngbloods double CD featuring three of their late 1960s albums from
their RCA years. The California-based band Seatrain is another
favorite from the late 1960s and in 2017, BGO reissued their 1973
album Watch. Originally released on Warner Brothers,
the album was the final Seatrain album, following their earlier albums,
produced by Beatles legend George Martin. Only Andy Kulberg,
from the original Seatrain remained and the album features a range
of Kulberg originals and a select cover from Kulberg’s early
band The Blues Project and a Seatrain cover of the often overlooked
Bob Dylan classic “Watching The River Flow”. Lastly on BGO
is a 2017 double CD set from California jam-band favorites Stoneground.
The band is best known for their lead singer Sal Valentino,
who worked in the 1960s with the Beau Brummels as well as guitarist
John Blakeley. The 2017 Stoneground album on BGO pairs their
self-titled first (1971) and third Stoneground 3 album
(1972), both released on Warner Brothers. www.bgo-records.com
DAGGER
RECORDS – A branch of the Experience Hendrix label trademark,
Dagger Records has Live At George’s Club 20.
Following the ill-timed death of Jimi Hendrix in September
1970, the story of Jimi’s early contracts with unscrupulous label
people started surfacing in the form of music he recorded as lead
guitarist in the band of soul singer Curtis Knight. Recorded
in a kind of wild, primitive fashion in a club in New Jersey on a
live concert date in both December 1965 and January ’66, the
music involved a quite litigious law suit that dogged Hendrix in his
final years but it has finally been put to bed. Experience Hendrix
presents Live At George's Club 20 in archival form, with 17
tracks that clocks in at 64 minutes, complete with historic photos
and liner notes. Despite the fact that these unscrupulous record company
people threatened Jimi with the release of this, after he was famous
is truly criminal. Musically, the bootleg quality sounds improved
but not much better. Sometimes Knight’s band with Jimi hits a
real groove but the uneven sound quality precludes getting any sense
of true accuracy for his fans. Sometimes the sound quality almost
sounds okay but it is great hearing Jimi’s out of control guitar
solo and vocals on the band doing a cover “Land Of 1000 Dances”
as he leads the Hackensack crowd to a fever pitch. There’s also
a double vinyl version planned for Record Store Day 2017. www.jimihendrix.com
EAGLE
ROCK ENTERTAINMENT -– 2004 was a great year for classic rock
comebacks. A few years before the great recession would shut things
down for a while, 2004 as also the year that saw The Who reunite
for the band’s first performance at the Isle Of Wight festival
since their 1970 heyday. Thirty five years after that 1970 festival
appearance The Who returned with founding members Pete Townshend
and Roger Daltrey keeping the Who flame alive and burning.
Eagle’s 2017 release of The Who: Live At The Isle Of Wight
Festival 2004 relies heavily on Who classics (“I Can’t
Explain”, “My Generation”, songs from Who’s
Next and Quadrophenia a.o.) yet it also manages to work
in live in concert performances of their new for 2004 tracks “Real
Good Looking Boy” and “Old Red Wine” —the latter
a tribute to fallen Who cofounder John Entwistle. The Who live in
2004 featured Zak Starkey (drums), Rabbit (keyboards)
and Pino Palladino (bass). There’s no bonus features on
the 23 track 2CD/ 1DVD set yet the packaging adds in excellent artwork
from the show as well as illuminating liner notes by long time Who
/ Townshend protégé Matt Kent. Oh, and by the
way, the concert runs well over two hours, was superbly filmed and
is one solid, action-packed video event start to finish. www.eagle-rock.com
MANIFESTO
RECORDS – It was sad to find out that Allan Holdsworth
passed in early 2017 but in any event, he went out on a high note.
Released by L.A. based Manifesto Records in early 2017 is a twelve
CD Holdsworth box set called The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever.
Also out is a distilled two-disc set called Eidolon,
which serves as a kind of best of retrospective. For the completist,
the box set is the way to go, yet Eidolon seems to touch on
most of the great Holdworth solo albums, starting with his I.O.U.
album in 1982 through till his last solo album Flat Tire in
2001. Appearing through the 28 track Eidolon are some of fusion’s
greatest players, including Holdsworth drummers of choice, Gary
Husband and Chad Wackerman, keyboard greats Alan Pasqua
and Gordon Beck and many more, including the late Jack
Bruce, who appears on the CD set’s only vocal, the title
track from the 1984 Road Games album. The booklet, with notes
by Chris Hoard touches on all phases of Holdsworth’s star-studded
career. A two CD updated and expanded best of collection selected
by Allan Holdworth himself, just months before he died, Eidolon
is a fitting tribute to a veritable guitar legend of the jazz-rock
world. www.manifesto.com
RHINO
RECORDS – Celebrating the 50th anniversary year of its release,
Rhino released the very first, self-titled Grateful Dead in
early 2017. Although the Dead changed their sound in time for their
1970 breakthrough album Workingman’s Dead album, their
very first album Grateful Dead reflected some of the famous
garage band sound that was dominating the pop charts back in the mid
1960s. In retrospect, and thanks to Rhino’s impeccable remastering,
1967’s Grateful Dead album sounds better now than it did
fifty years ago, when it was just about overlooked, considering all
the great music that was pouring out of California way back then.
This early version of the Grateful Dead featured core members Jerry
Garcia (guitars, vocals), Bob Weir (guitars, vocals), Phil
Lesh (bass, vocals), Pigpen (keys, vocals) and Bill
Kreutzmann (drums). Although the album started off with a killer
original called “The Golden Road”, the album dips into covers
of blues classics, like “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”
and a countrified, near skiffle sounding “Sitting On Top Of The
World”. The album closes out with the ten minute “Viola
Lee Blues”, a soaring improvisational sounding track that offers
an early indication into the Dead’s future legacy as America’s
greatest jam-band. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Grateful
Dead album, Rhino has done a superb job on the remastering, adding
in a second CD featuring a live concert from the summer of 1966, months
before the Grateful Dead studio album came out. The package
features an in-depth CD booklet with rare pics and liner notes. As
has been noted, there were so many great rock and pop albums coming
out of the West Coast in 1966-67, but it’s not too late to check
out this early masterpiece by Jerry Garcia and company. www.rhino.com
ROCK
BEAT RECORDS – L.A. based Rock Beat, under the auspices of
chief Arny Schorr, released a great Harvey Mandel album in
2017 called Snake
Attack. In mid 2017, Rock Beat reissued several live albums—on
both CD and Lp—from classic rock legends The Flamin’
Groovies, Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen and
blues rock icon Paul Butterfield. Rock Beat’s Flamin’
Groovies CD, called Live In San Francisco 1971, was
recorded live at Fillmore West. Overall, the CD is a good example
of the Flamin’ Groovies and their hard-hitting mix of punk-rock
and power pop. The CD features a spoken word intro by the late Bill
Graham. Rock Beat’s Commander Cody CD—Live At
Ebbett’s Field—was recorded live on August 11th,
1973 and features 21 tracks. Rock Beat keeps the vinyl crowd happy
with Live In New York 1970, from blues rock icon Pal Butterfield.
Recorded in December 1970, live at NYC’s A&R studios, Live
In New York 1970 is a solid showcase for Butterfield’s legendary
vocals and harmonica work. One of the most high-visibility reissues
on Rock Beat in 2017 is a four CD live package—entitled Once
Upon A Time In South America—from early 1970s prog-rock
pioneers Emerson Lake & Palmer. Recorded live in Chile
and Argentina in 1993, just after their 1992 Black Moon album,
and in Brazil in 1997, ELP's four CD Rock Beat set sounds very good
and goes on to feature most of the trio’s biggest hits, along
with extended instrumental jams, a Keith Emerson piano solo as well
as assorted hits from the pre-ELP bands King Crimson and The Nice.
Rock Beat's four disc ELP set features in-depth liner notes and excellent
multi-disc packaging. www.rockbeatrecords.com
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