For this fifth outing from Billy Sherwood’s Prog Collective, the Yes bassist has brought together an impressive array of musicians to bring his fluid all star project’s music to life. In a sidestep from previous releases, however, there are moments throughout ‘Dark Encounters’ that appear somewhat moodier than before. The bulk of the record takes an instrumental route, and a couple of the tunes go much deeper into jazz fusion. That’s not to say that fans of the veteran musicians involved won’t find anything to enjoy, or even something familiar to cling onto – a Sherwood Project will almost always include material that nods in the very definite direction of Yes and World Trade – but at least fifty percent of this record isn’t exactly what most people will be expecting.
Tag Archives: jazz fusion
LALU – The Fish Who Wanted To Be King
Previously the keyboard player with Shadrane and Hubi Maisel, Vivien Lalu formed his eponymously named band in 2004. The idea was that the band would approach prog in a very unrestrained way, and also add contemporary elements to keep things interesting. Considering a lot of prog metal in the mid noughties seemed to consist of stuck-in-a-rut Dream Theater-isms – especially from DT themselves – and so much prog relied upon obvious influences, Lalu’s desire for a bigger and more interesting musical canvas wasn’t unwarranted. Of course, there were a few freewheeling, pioneering spirits then – not least of all Devin Townsend, always marching to his own drum – but prog metal definitely needed new blood at that time.
ASYMMETRIC UNIVERSE – The Sun Would Disappear As I Imagined All The Stars
The last thing you’d probably expect from a something touted as an “experimental prog release” is an intro featuring an easy jazz piano melody, but that’s exactly how experimentalists Asymmetric Universe kick off their 2023 EP ‘The Sun Would Disappear As I Imagined All The Stars’. Fact is, this release isn’t so much an “experimental prog” release, as a weird concoction of jazz fusion and metal riffs that often centre around some very busy melodies. It’s jazz fusion at its most aggressive; a world where the funkier elements of The Brecker Brothers meet the flowing grooves of Weather Report, only to be roughed up by the heavy mechanics of Cynic and Animals As Leaders.
BOBBY SPARKS II – Paranoia
Best known as the organist with jazz collective Snarky Puppy, Bobby Sparks II released a particularly grand solo debut with ‘Schizophrenia: The Yang Project’ in 2018. A lengthy two disc affair, the album took in elements of jazz, funk, pop, soul and rap to create a listen that was varied, but eventually uncovered a selection of tracks that – depending on where you dropped the needle – could appeal to heavy jazz fusionists, lovers of Herbie Hancock’s dance oriented 90s releases, those on a nostalgia trip with an old Arrested Development album, or even a few Prince fans.
Check out the new video from Olympic Bingo
Olympic Bingo’s ‘Aloof’ album is an underground gem. For lovers of retro sounds with a jazz and electronica vibe, it could turn out to be one of those rare finds. There’s plenty within its stand out track ‘Things To Do Today’, for example, that has the ability to cast the listener back a couple of decades…and sometimes farther still.