New Gold City

http://www.1krecordings.com/home for availability We had the opportunity last night, Independence Day Night, to attend an album release party for the new Global Illage album "The Complete Portland Sessions." I've written about this mind blowing quartet previously. They're all about improvisational music and, truthfully, I think they're channeling the 22nd Century pretty forcefully. Global Illage is Chris Cuzme on reeds and bass; Dan Sears, trumpet and keyboards; Jim Hamilton, percussion; and Tim Motzer playing guitar and electronics  (like a winged angelic mad professor blend of Frank Zappa and Pat Metheny) . Their music grooves, flies, digs, screams, settles, electrifies, and calls forth the spirits of so many of our greatest musical geniuses of the past 100+ years. I asked a couple other people at the concert last night what we would call this stuff. Our final pick was global acid jazz fusion beat . Each musician brings his distinct musical intelligence to the ...

Sometimes you are blessed with good friends who have so much artistic talent they inspire the hell out of you. As I work through final edits and publication formatting for Beyond the Will of God , I have the privilege of listening to some of the most interesting music I've heard in a long time. My good friend Jim Hamilton, percussionist extraordinaire (a big-time student of Brazilian rhythm of all kinds), has provided me with a rough cut of extended compositions by an iteration (or something) of his electro-trip-jazz band GLOBAL iLLAGE . Rest assured, if you pay attention, the most amazing music you will ever hear is yet to come. I have no idea when these tracks will find their way into finished form, but you really need to be on the lookout for this album. It's establishing one helluva supreme manifestation in my head. My novel  Beyond the Will of God, is all about the transformative, transcendent power of music. It is a murder mystery wrapped up in a music mystery wrapped up...