CD Review – Reconstructed, by Isadar

Prolific recording artist Isadar’s latest album is his first produced by Grammy Award-winning guitarist and Windham Hill Records/Private Music founder Will Ackerman, and the result is a superbly crafted and recorded collection of new takes of selected cuts from Isadar’s previous solo piano CDs.

I haven’t heard Isadar’s prior work, so I can’t compare the new versions to the originals. However, I can certainly say that the lyrical compositions are beautifully arranged and wonderfully performed. Isadar demonstrates masterful skill in his playing and impeccable taste in his creative choices. He also lets loose on several tracks with a quirky playfulness that prevents this from becoming a stodgy affair.

This album can be enjoyed by solo piano aficionados and general music fans alike and is a perfect and pleasant soundtrack for motoring.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – BEEing Human, by Mark Bruland

When I think of farming and farmers, I don’t think of evocative, atmospheric instrumental music. To be honest, judging by the cover and the cutesy album title, I was expecting something more along the lines of rustic, folksy country bumpkin-ness. Mark Bruland’s third album, my first experience with Bruland’s music, smashes all such misconceptions to crop dust.

A former food and beverage industry executive for nearly three decades, the Wisconsin farmer and beekeeper tills the fields and grows produce during the spring, summer, and fall and writes and records his musical masterpieces at his farm-based studio during the winter.

And what a harvest it is! (The music, that is.)

Bruland plays all the instruments, including guitars, bass, piano, synthesizers, horns, drums, and percussion. The result is a warm, rich sound that holds the music together through a variety of styles, such as inspiring anthems (“Blue Eyed Steel”), pleasant ballads (“An Afternoon with Steve,” “A Cool Breeze for Louise,” “My Laughing Heart”), and ethereal excursions (“No Matter What,” “Pictures from Wheels,” “Tom Parker’s Wind Chimes”).

From beginning to end, these are sounds for sore ears and minds.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Whereas, by Rebecca Oswald

Rebecca Oswald presents thirteen formidable solo piano tunes that conjure vivid stories fueled by the artist’s passion.

This is not your typical solo piano CD. Although Oswald has no accompaniment, she more than makes up for it with a dynamic sound and a masterful technique that give the impression of a full orchestra, thanks to her ambidextrous rendering of melodies, harmonies, and fills.

The compositions and performances themselves are full of drama and nuance. While they are serene and beautiful, they are also very compelling. Just when you think you’re about to drift off into tranquility, Oswald reels you back in with a jarring note here and a thunderous chord there.

If you’re looking for solo piano music that’s a nice blend of quiet and intensity and both relaxing and challenging, this one is worth a spin.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Inhale Slowly, by Tim White and Joe Paulino

On their latest album, Tim White and Joe Paulino set out to provide a musical environment in which listeners can accomplish the action of the title. The duo’s efforts are right on the target.

Using the ragas of classical Indian music as a starting point, White combines his ethereal bamboo flute, floating acoustic guitar, and evocative Indian instruments including sitar and bowed-stringed esraj with Paulino’s lush synthesizers and majestic grand piano.

The result is a calming and therapeutic expanse of sound that gently removes the noise of hectic daily life and tunes the mind into peace and tranquility.

The compositions, arrangements, and performances are dynamic enough to command artistic merit, yet serene enough for relaxation and cooling down.

--Raj Manoharan

CD (Fan) Review – Mike Moreno

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of tunes on WBGO Jazz Radio by an up-and-coming jazz guitarist named Mike Moreno. Those two tracks were enough to hook me and compel me to go to Amazon and listen to samples from his four (to date) solo albums, which I promptly ordered and am now enjoying in between my reviews.

Moreno combines the steeped traditions of jazz guitar and the eclectic possibilities of the electric guitar, resulting in a fusion of old and new that matches the fire and invention of a young Pat Metheny, who has praised Moreno.

Moreno’s albums are not just exercises in jazz guitar. Although he writes most of the originals that are not standards, the other musicians supporting him get to shine just as much as the leader, resulting in the cohesion of a true band. But Moreno’s guitar is definitely the thread that holds everything together.

Although Moreno has released “only” four albums in the last five years, he by no means operates in a vacuum. A graduate of New School University’s music program in his current home base of New York City, Moreno has performed, toured, and recorded with both established jazz superstars and fellow up-and-coming jazz artists.

I find it a bit weird being a fan of someone younger than me. All of my favorite actors and musicians are several years or decades older than me, which makes sense because I became a fan of them when I was a child. However, Moreno is only six years younger than me, so I don’t feel so bad. I am proud to include him in my personal pantheon of favorite jazz/rock/fusion guitarists, including Andy Summers, Eric Johnson, Hiram Bullock, Pat Metheny, and Ronny Jordan.

I am even more excited that the future of jazz guitar is literally in good hands.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Sounds from the Circle IV, by The New Age Music Circle

Produced by Suzanne Doucet (one of whose tunes is included) and The B Company’s Beth Hilton, this latest in a series of recording compilations features 40 individual tracks from members of The New Age Music Circle, an online community of New Age musicians from around the world, many of whom I have reviewed on this site.

This CD has a playing time of over three-and-a-half hours, which is possible because this is an mp3 collection, allowing for the expanded capacity. With the development of this technology, there is no more need for multi-CD box sets. Or multi-CD box sets can now have at least twice the amount of material.

The press release, as well as the album package, advises that the CD can only be played in mp3-compatible CD players and computer CD-ROM drives and won’t play in older, traditional CD players. I was able to play it in my 2010 Ford’s CD player with no problems.

The artists on this CD whom I have reviewed on this site include Hennie Bekker, Louis Collaiannia, AOMusic, Tron Syversen, Al Conti, Peter Jennison, 2002, Jose Luis Serrano Esteban, Bill Wren and Frank Ralls, Paradiso and Rasamayi, Michael de Salem, and Lia Scallon. You can look them up in the search engine above to see my reviews of their individual albums and get a sense of their sounds and styles.

The overall feel of the album is soothing and laid-back. This is the perfect soundtrack for a road trip, and you don’t have to change CDs for three-and-a-half hours.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Lucid Dreams, by Arturo Mayorga

Arturo Mayorga presents a collection of eleven tunes that accomplish what good music does – take listeners’ minds off their cares and transport them to a place of inspiration and enlightenment.

The pianist/keyboardist alternates between solo tracks, duets, and a full ensemble. The rich sound is achieved by a full consort of musicians on guitar, drums, percussion, flute, oboe, English horn, voice, violin, viola, and cello.

Mayorga is a master of his craft, constructing snappy compositions around his fine, pointed melodies. He has an acute understanding of pop sensibilities that makes his music accessible to listeners of every stripe.

This is an enjoyable CD that is engaging from beginning to end.

--Raj Manoharan