NEW RELEASES: WILL BERNARD – OUT AND ABOUT; GOLDEN DAWN ARKESTRA – STARGAZER; UNITED VIBRATIONS – MYTH OF THE GOLDEN RATIO

WILL BERNARD – OUT AND ABOUT

A mighty impressive set from guitarist Will Bernard – our hands down favorite of his work as a leader to to date – and an all originals session with a remarkable stylistic range! Our ears perked up from the opening seconds, thanks to the elegant take on jazz funk of the opener "Happy Belated" – which has this perfect balance of insistent groove and spontaneous energy – facets that hold true throughout! As stated, there's a stylistic breadth here that keeps the vibe fresh from track-to-track – it's not all funk-steeped – with some laidback and melodic moments, along with faster, more energetic material. Each player has ample space to shine, including the excellent Brian Charette on organ, John Ellis on sax, Ben Allison on bass, and Allison Miller on drums. Titles include "Not Too Fancy", "Next Guest", "Habenera", "Homeward Bound", "Suggested Reading", "Full Sweep", "Out And About", "Redwood (Business Casual)", "Homebody" and "Pan Seared". ~ Dusty Groove

GOLDEN DAWN ARKESTRA – STARGAZER

The Golden Dawn Arkestra really take things over the top with this expanded full length set – a record that really lets us see what the group can do when given a lot of room to work with! All the elements you'd expect from the group's name are firmly in place here – the heady spiritual currents that "golden dawn" might evoke, and the collaborative energy that comes from an "arkestra" – which almost seems like some sort of mystical pact forged by the group than a larger sort of compositional enterprise. The tunes here work cosmic currents through a range of jazz-based instrumentation, but also open up to funkier elements too – some keyboards and basslines that help forge the journey to the stars – on titles that include "Space Waves", "Shabuki", "Osaka", "Disko", "All Is Light", and "Sama Chaka". ~ Dusty Groove

UNITED VIBRATIONS – MYTH OF THE GOLDEN RATIO

A nice one from the appropriately named United Vibrations – a London group that draws from a diverse well of global influences and brings it all to a great, unified groove overall! Stylistically, they work with strains Afrobeat in the rhythm and percussion, spiritual jazz in the moodier, more spacious moments, and an all around cosmic sound that confounds easy categorization – often with consciously soulful lyricism. Ambitious, distinctive stuff on Ubiquity Records – among the more far-reaching and diverse new music we've heard on the legendary label in years! Includes "Sophia", "Scion", "Grow", the 3-part suite "Far Far Away", "I Am We", "Twister", "Cave" and "Golden". ~ Dusty Groove