Instrumental

Lotus's Self-titled Album

9/19/2011
My Nguyen
Artist: 
Lotus

Although Lotus’s music pretty much lets you know that the group is not meant to be pigeonholed in any way, the only way to frame this group of multi-instrument welding artists is to picture a bicycle wheel and to envision the wind blowing through the spokes, creating an array of movements and mesh of colors. This non-linear approach towards looking at this band of musicians could also be super-imposed to depict the visuals onstage.

Walking With Merlyn

6/12/2011

The mysterious Llwellyn’s new-age ambient album, inspired by the worlds most famous wizard and Arthurian legend , “Walking With Merlyn” is nothing short of a mystical medieval experience.

The new album contains seven tracks, each ranging in length from anywhere between five and ten minutes, which can be listened to on several planes.

'Foxy'

9/22/2010
Sari N. Kent
Artist: 
Jon Irabagon
'Foxy' by Jon Irabagon

The latest release and fourth album from tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon, entitled Foxy, also features drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Peter Brendler. Recorded and mixed by John White at Midtown Sound in New York, NY, Foxy is an uninterrupted performance that has been divided into 11 tracks. Each song title exhibits some facet of the instrument collaboration that occurs within each track.

Legs to Make Us Longer

7/20/2009
Kris Lorenz
Artist: 
Kaki King

Kaki King's sophomore album, "Legs to Make Us Longer," continues what was started with her debut, "Everybody Loves You." The album consists primarily of solo acoustic guitar tracks, though this time around she contributes vocals on one tune, a trend that would come to dominate her future efforts. "Legs to Make Us Longer" eschews much of the playfulness of the first album, and as a result, some of the unique essence of her debut is lost. This is both a good and bad direction for the album.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Mighty Long Way to Go

7/17/2009
Lawanda Johnson
Artist: 
Alvin Queen

Alvin Queen's "Mighty Long Way to Go" is a simple jazz album, but very precise. There isn't any singing, or lyrics, but there is beautiful music. This instrumental CD is something delightful and wonderful to listen to.

Even though the lyrics are absent, Alvin Queen names his songs. One particular song is "Mighty Long Way." There are drums, trumpets and guitar playing on this track. The beat is steady and rhythmic and is pleasant to listen to.

Other songs like "I Got a Woman" and "Cape Verdean Blues" have a softer sound and are more blues-like, if anything.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

King of the Surf Guitar: The Best of Dick Dale and His Del-Tones

6/20/2009
Stefan Julian
Artist: 
Dick Dale

They call Dick Dale the "King of Surf Guitar" for a reason. He helped invent the sound in California and was one of the pioneers of the genre.

His staccato guitar picking echoes the sound of surfers riding waves. The danceable backbeat boogie intensifies the wet sound created by the electric reverberated guitar.

A primal part of this genre is the use of trumpet, piano, and handclaps. The strange thing about Dale's playing is that he plays the guitar with the strings on backwards to get different sounds from different chord positions created.

Reviewer Rating: 
5.00Stars

East Wind

4/6/2009
JC Chute
Artist: 
Timothy Cooper

The series of instrumental pieces found on this CD really capture the atmospheric qualities they are meant to represent, such as the title track "East Wind" or "Asian Rain."

These are short compositions, but each one is filled with emotion and comes across in an expressive and emotive way. Perhaps the best example of this is "Bird Flight," which so precisely captures the idea of an actual bird in flight it leaves the listener feeling uplifted to soaring new heights.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Journey to the New World

3/31/2009
JC Chute
Artist: 
Sharon Isbin

Sharon Isbin's Journey to the New World harkens back to a much simpler musical era, and takes its place among classic recordings of period pieces.

"Greensleeves" transports you to the days of kings, queens, ladies and lords of the court, with a traditional rendering of the song that has wonderful layers and texture to it.

Much the same can be said of "The Drunken Sailor," which is done here in instrumental form and remains true to the original. "Wayfaring Stranger" is a strong lamentation, and "Go 'Way from My Window" is sweetly sad.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars

Vibraphone

3/23/2009
JC Chute
Artist: 
Laura Klein & Ted Wolff

Vibraphone, by Laura Klein and Ted Wolff is just a bit too bland and generic to hold the interest of listeners from beginning to end. Ultimately, it sounds overly repetitive and lacking a sense of variety.

It is obvious the songs on this album are performed by skilled musicians and their talent does come through on many of the tracks. But there is a lack of cohesiveness that detracts from its listenability and makes the audience wonder what exactly was trying to be achieved.

Reviewer Rating: 
2.50Stars

Watching for Rain

3/4/2009
Alyssa Marcus
Artist: 
Anne Trenning

Watching for Rain is Anne Trenning's third CD, released just last month. She is a pianist, and her music is just that, music. Although there are other instruments involved, mostly strings, there are no voices to interrupt.

The CD contains ten original compositions plus a folk melody, a traditional spiritual, a modern gospel and a country classic. My favorite song is track three, "Eden Hall." This track is actually a new arrangement of her own song that originally appeared on her first recording, Suite Tea, back in 1997.

There's no doubt that Ms.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars
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