NEW MUSIC: THE NEW TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME - MILLION DOLLAR LEGS; SPIKE WILNER – KOAN; RYAN CARRAHER - VOCTURNAL

THE NEW TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME - MILLION DOLLAR LEGS

Tony Williams is a million miles from his work with the Miles Davis Quintet on this record – grooving in a heavy rock/fusion mode with his New Lifetime group that includes Allan Holdsworth on guitar, Tony Newton on bass and vocals, and Alan Pasqua on keyboards! The tracks have a post Jeff Beck kind of approach – lots of heavy riffing in a way that does create a bit of funk at the right moments, almost in the Alphonze Mouzon/Tommy Bolin mode – and Williams' drums are right at home in the setting, and somehow filled with as much imagination and creativity as before! Titles include "Sweet Revenge", "Inspirations Of Love", "Lady Jade", "What You Do To Me", and "Joy Filled Summer". ~ Dusty Groove

SPIKE WILNER – KOAN

Brilliant work from pianist Spike Wilner – who'd only put out a handful of studio records as a leader to date, but gigs steadily – making the occasional studio sessions something we always look forward to! Koan might be his best to date, done with his trio featuring Tyler Mitchell on bass and Anthony Piciotti on drums. It starts strongly with the sly opener "Iceberg Slim" and excellent title track "Koan", but it's a win from beginning to end, on both the spryer, energetic numbers and few mellower, moodier ones. Other originals include "Monkey Mind", "Trick Baby", "Three Ring Circus" and ""Blues For The Common Man" – plus expressive takes on "Warm Valley", "Gypsy Without A Song", "Lonely Woman", "Hot House" and "Young At Heart". ~, Dusty Groove

RYAN CARRAHER - VOCTURNAL

Ryan Carraher is a Boston based jazz fusion guitarist and composer, who has just released his debut record consisting of all original modern jazz pieces entitled "Vocturnal". The album is inspired by Allan Holdsworth, Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel and the composers of the 20th century. The album thus far has been getting an amazing response and acclaim, and it was also listed as one of the best selling jazz records on bandcamp. “Vocturnal” is a modern jazz record that seeks to push the boundaries of jazz by pulling from vast, non-traditional musical resources as well as championing the traditional backbone of jazz improvisation. At its core, the compositions on “Vocturnal” are heavily inspired by the classical composers of the 20th century (Messiaen, Schoenberg, Berg, Stravinsky etc.) and the expressive freedom of jazz. New York legend, and guitar genius, David Tronzo, had this to say about the record: “Fantastic compositions and brilliant playing! Bravo!”