New Music Releases: Jane Ira Bloom & Mark Helias, Robohands, Jim Adkins, Amanda Whiting

Jane Ira Bloom & Mark Helias - See Our Way

The sax/ bass duo of soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias has deepened on their latest digital release See Our Way now available on Bandcamp on Radiolegs Records (RL023). Thirteen mind-bending improvised duets performed by two masterful jazz improvisers who know how to coax composition out of the air and then some. From breathtaking ballads like “Folks Sing” and “As Close As It Gets, to hard driving tempos like “Cut to the Chase” and “Hard Science,” to the space chasing adventures of “Laser Plane” and “Time Shear,” these musicians have no boundaries to their multi-dimensional creativity. The beauty and adventure of their acoustic sound together is mesmerizing from the start of each song. Their sound is both warm and electric with a depth that is hard to describe. The tracks were recorded from February 2021 through January 2022 and exquisitely mixed and mastered by Helias. Following on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2021 release Some Kind of Tomorrow, Bloom & Helias have brought their listeners ever deeper into their musical universe. Sound and silence are equal partners in their music so they have divided their setlist into three “Multiverses” for listeners to savor in short sections with space in between for breath and reflection. Listen in your own time and enjoy these duo tracks from two seasoned improvisors who love to play music by jumping off the high board. It’s magical, it’s exhilarating, and out of this world. Hear and See Our Way.

Robohands – Giallo 

Robohands, aka Andy Baxter, joins the Bastard Jazz family with a new EP titled “Giallo.” Partly inspired by Italian Giallo (meaning “yellow”) film soundtracks of the late 70s and 80s, as well as the experimental sounds of pioneering krautrock bands like Tangerine Dream and NEU! Armed with an old Juno 60 synthesizer, Andy wrote, recorded, and mixed all the parts himself, including the live drums, adding in multiple layers of effects. Spread across 8 tracks, “Giallo” spans atmospheric meditations (“Giallo;” “Claws;” “Relax”) to jazzy improvisational explorations (“Fear”), interwoven with brief solo instrumental tapestries (“Horror;” “Float By Like Clouds;” “For the Different”). There is an elegant cinematic quality to the EP, further refined by Robohands’ production prowess and technical chops. “Giallo” builds on the Robohands sound, taking it in an exciting, more experimental direction. “Giallo” is out on Jim 

Jim Adkins – Soul Expression

In a recent interview connected with the release of Jim Adkins’ latest album Soul Expresion, the versatile veteran guitarist said it all about his multi-faceted artistry when he talked about the inspiration for the title, “It all comes from within as an expression of my soul.” Nearly 25 years into his award-winning, regularly charting recording career, the Grammy nominated musician is still mixing up a non-stop, cool swirl of varying vibes and energies centered on his alternately crisp/crackling and sensually fluid lines. Complementing a batch of high-spirited originals with a bluesy, slow burning twist on an Ed Sheeran classic, Adkins brings his jazzy hipster magic to tracks that rock, jazz, immerse us in mystical romance and take us to balmy tropical climes. - www.smoothjazz.com

Amanda Whiting - Lost In Abstraction

Jazz harpist Amanda Whiting offers up a nicely changed-up sound here – on a record that begins with a lean trio approach, the adds in work from Chip Wickham on alto and flute on a few tracks too! There's a vibe to the record that's maybe more introspective than before, and very personal – as if Whiting is really figuring out what she can offer to the world of jazz on her instrument, taking up different territory than legends who've preceded her, like Alice Coltrane or Dorothy Ashby – as she works alongside spacious accompaniment from Aidan Thorne on bass and Jon Reynolds on drums. Percussionist Baldo Verdu joins the group on half the album's tracks too – and titles include "Venus Fly Trap", "Discarded", "Up There", "Where Would We Be", "Too Much", "Temptation", "Abstraction", "Lost", and "Suspended". ~  Dusty Groove