Category: Instrumental (Page 4 of 5)

Return to Forever: Return to Forever Returns: Live at Montreux 2008

June 2, 2009 / Michael Fortes

Of all the reunions pianist Chick Corea has participated in over the past few years, last year’s resurrection of the classic Return to Forever lineup – Corea, guitarist Al DiMeola, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White – turned out to be the most musically rewarding. The guys play as if it were still 1976, and Corea even took a vintage Rhodes to the stage to keep it authentic. If anything, the group is even better now with age and wisdom – DiMeola’s guitar runs sparkle with soul, Clarke’s and White’s rhythms are even earthier now, and in spite of these musicians having so distinctly honed their identities over time, Chick is still the masterful glue that keeps it all together. Though known mostly for their electric work, RTF’s acoustic side is on display for almost half of Live at Montreux, with Chick’s solo improvisation before “The Romantic Warrior” (with Clarke and White as a straight-ahead trio) proving that RTF, for all their fusion tendencies, were always, deep down, a jazz band. (Eagle Rock Entertainment 2009)

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Concert DVDs, DVD Quicktakes, Instrumental, Jazz, Music DVDs

Al DiMeola Chick Corea fusion Jazz Lenny White Montreux Jazz Festival Return to Forever reunion Stanley Clarke

Steve Kilbey: Painkiller

March 13, 2009 / Mike Farley

Aussie alternative rock band the Church began making music almost a quarter century ago, and while that band perfected the art of lo-fi before lo-fi was even a term anyone used, it was singer, songwriter and front man Steve Kilbey who mostly dominated the creative aspect of the Church. Kilbey’s first solo effort in eight years, Painkiller, was released in Australia in 2008 and just recently in the U.S. on Second Motion Records. But Church fans should be hesitant at best to grab this or any of Kilbey’s solo work – not because he isn’t talented or that his hypnotic vocals aren’t as spot on as they were in the ‘80s, but because it sounds like Kilbey puts his these songs together in a musical lab. There’s just a lot of weird experimentation going on, with melody and cohesion being after-thoughts. Kilbey’s poetry background is evident in some of these tracks, in particular the opener “Outbound,” which sounds like a spoken-word piece with musical backing. “Celestial” and “Crystalline Rush” are dark and somewhat palatable, as is the catchiest track, “Oenone.” But when Kilbey breaks out the test tubes and beakers, as he does on the 12-minute instrumental track, “File Under Travel,” or on the (gasp) 31-minute long “Not What You Say,” you just might fall asleep before you realize what’s happening. (Second Motion)

Steve Kilbey MySpace Page

Alternative, Ambient, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Indie Labels, Instrumental, Pop, Rock

Australian rock bands Second Motion Steve Kilbey The Church

Chick Corea & Hiromi: Duet

February 20, 2009 / Michael Fortes

Recorded live at Tokyo’s Blue Note Jazz Club, Duet continues Chick Corea’s streak of exceptional albums with unimaginative titles. Chick hasn’t released a piano duet album since his 1978 live double album with fellow Miles Davis alumnus Herbie Hancock, and while that record was a meeting of two peers, Chick’s partner on Duet, Japanese pianist Hiromi, was a year away from birth when Chick dueled with Herbie in ’78. As one might expect, Hiromi’s youthful exuberance matches – and sometimes surpasses – what was going down 30 years ago. Just one listen to the pair’s wildly playful take on Chick’s “Humpty Dumpty” and Monk’s “Bolivar Blues” may be enough to make it feel like this is the first and best time the dual piano format has been explored, not to mention the tension that Chick cleverly builds with his trademark percussive smacking of the keys during a neat take on the Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill.” (Concord 2009)

Chick Corea MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Instrumental, Jazz

Chick & Hiromi CD review Chick Corea Chick Corea CD review duet Duet review Herbie Hancock Hiromi Jazz Miles Davis piano

Kaki King – Playing With Pink Noise

February 14, 2009 / Gerardo Orlando

Unfortunately. we can’t embedd this video, but it’s worth checking out.

Instrumental, Videos

Kaki King Kaki King Playing With Pink Noise Kaki King video Playing With Pink Noise Playing With Pink Noise video

Chantry: The Emancipation of Elizabeth

February 6, 2009 / Captain Capm

If you like a lot of guitar with your cheese, then chances are you’ll love Chantry, an Italian one-man band featuring Alessandro Monopoli exploding all over this disc’s ten tracks. The first tune “Shine” sounds like it would have been amazing back in the mid ‘70s when Rush and Yes were cranking out epic concept albums, with its slightly majestic pretension and show-off guitar work. But then it becomes clear that this is one of those egomaniacal releases with each subsequent track finding Monopoli shoving every little silly guitar trick and bad production technique into his compositions, whether they fit or not. I can’t tell if the drums on this disc are real or programmed, but they’re so over-the-top and obnoxious that I’m leaning towards programmed. Just listen to “Stars,” “Emergence” or “Flawed Archetype,” and you’ll see what I mean. Dude, are the ridiculous 100 mph kick drums really that necessary? Not at all, but then neither is the majority of this disc. (self-released

Chantry MySpace

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Instrumental

Alessandro Monopoli Chantry The Emancipation of Elizabeth The Emancipation of Elizabeth CD review