Parting Is (2018), by Jon Durant

This is It! This is The One! Parting Is is to Jon Durant what Mysterious Barricades (1988) is to Andy Summers. An album of exquisite and extraordinary sonic beauty that pretty much sums up the essence of the artist and his art with just guitars and basses. (Summers’ acoustic and electric guitars on Mysterious Barricades are accentuated with David Hentschel’s keyboards and synthesizers, but the end results are pretty much the same.)

The most ethereal and enigmatic tracks on the album are "Clouds in Advance," “Before the Rain Falls,” “Return to the Departure,” and “Willamette Fog.”

 

"Clouds in Advance" sets the tone as Durant's "cloud guitar" approaches and permeates the immersive auditory environment. "Before the Rain Falls" recalls the gently blistering tones of Robert Fripp.

“Return to the Departure” exudes the spirits of Andy Summers and Allan Holdsworth with its piercing lone guitar lead over deeply resonant bass and lush synthesizer-like textures. “Willamette Fog” sounds exactly like what it suggests, but rather than murky and sinister obfuscation, the mist here is one of cleansing purity and clarity.

 

We need more guitarists like Jon Durant who continue to carry forward the legacies of guitar greats like Andy Summers, Allan Holdsworth, and Robert Fripp, but in their own unique voices, and we need more albums like Parting Is that expand and redefine the boundaries of what the guitar can sound like.

 

This is among guitar art of the highest order.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Alternate Landscapes (2019), by Jon Durant

This album should have been called Alien Landscapes instead of Alternate Landscapes, because Jon Durant’s guitar sounds are literally out of this world!

In terms of its sonic feel, Alternate Landscapes falls somewhere between George Harrison’s Electronic Sound (1969) and Andy Summers’ Mysterious Barricades (1988).

 

If you’re going to fall somewhere, that’s not a bad place to land.

 

The album also recalls elements of Summers and Robert Fripp’s Bewitched (1984), as well as Fripp’s Frippertronics solo albums.

 

That’s an illustrious pedigree of sound, and Durant should be honored and privileged to be in such hallowed company.

 

In terms of the artistic and sonic possibilities of the guitar, this is essential listening and belongs in the collection of anyone devoted to the instrument. It is among Jon Durant’s finest work.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Soul of a River (2020), by Jon Durant

Soul of a River is not your typical guitar-and-piano album, in terms of what such a record is expected to sound like, and especially in terms of what guitars are expected to sound like.

Durant uses piano to construct minimalist themes, motifs, and riffs that hook you and draw you into an immersive sonic environment enveloped by layers of pulsating, subliminal sound effects.

 

With his guitars, Durant creates atmospheres and textures that are reminiscent of Andy Summers’ albums Bewitched (1984, with Robert Fripp), Mysterious Barricades (1988), and The Golden Wire (1989), as well as Summers’ song “Carry Me Back Home” from the 1986 Band of the Hand soundtrack.

 

Durant takes guitar-and-piano music in exciting and interesting new directions, making him stand out from most of the rest of the six-string and 88-key pack.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Across the Evening (2020), by Jon Durant and Robert Jürjendal

Progressive guitarists Jon Durant of the USA and Robert Jürjendal of Estonia team up for an international meeting of the musical minds that results in a first-rate work of ambient new age jazz fusion.

Rather than perpetrate a full-frontal assault with a preponderance of notes, Durant and Jürjendal instead conjure impressionistic and evocative sonic images that take listeners on an imaginative itinerary of immersive sounds.

 

Heavily processed guitar signals create an all-enveloping canopy of lush, ethereal tones that feature flourishes of luminescent leads, harmonic hooks, and entrancing rhythms.

 

Adding to the eclectic and expansive sound mix are choice seasonings of bass by Colin Edwin of the UK, trumpet by Aleksei Saks of Estonia, and percussion by Andi Pupato of Switzerland, giving the music more of an international flavor.

 

The album is very reminiscent of Andy Summers and Robert Fripp’s early 1980s albums I Advanced Masked and Bewitched, as well as Summers’ 2015 solo album Metal Dog. There are elements of Allan Holdsworth throughout as well.

 

This is a transformative and rewarding musical journey worth taking.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Thank You, Micky!

 

Dolenz Sings Nesmith (2021), by Micky Dolenz

The Monkees may be winding down with their anticipated 2021/2022 farewell tour, but if this amazing album is any indication, remaining members Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith still have a bright future ahead of them as singer and songwriter, respectively.

A rousing and invigorating mix of pop, rock, folk, country and western, Americana, ragtime, and even Indian music complete with tablas and sitars, this is indeed an awesome album, one of the best of all time and certainly far better than most new recordings from veteran artists of the 1960s.

 

At 76 years old, Dolenz still sounds as vibrant and energetic as he ever has, perhaps even more so on this album, which highlights his youthful and elastic vocals more effectively than the Monkees albums of the last decade.

 

This is probably the strongest selection of songs Dolenz has sung on any album, most likely because Nesmith is the songwriter.

 

Even though these are covers of Nesmith originals, the songs are both fresh and familiar, thanks to the crisp production of Nesmith’s musician son, Christian.

 

If you’re already acquainted with these classic Nesmith tunes, you will dig Christian’s thoughtful, sensitive, and rocking new arrangements.

 

If they’re new to you, you’re still in for a musical treat for your ears.

 

Based on the high quality and enjoyment factor of this album, I want to hear Dolenz sing more Nesmith songs, both old and new.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Legs Eleven (2004), by Chad Wackerman

On his fourth solo release – the second of his two albums recorded during the ten years he lived in Australia – American virtuoso drummer Chad Wackerman pounds and clangs his way through a solid set of jazz fusion instrumentals that showcase his strong compositions and spotlight the tight interplay of his Aussie band members.

The returning lineup from Wackerman’s previous outing includes Daryl Pratt on synthesizer, vibraphone, and marimba, Leon Gaer on bass, and James Muller – the Australian version of Allan Holdsworth and Andy Summers – on guitar.

 

In addition to his Holdsworth/Summers-like tone and style, Muller ventures into Pat Metheny territory and even a little bit of progressive rock. And yet with all these influences and inspirations, Muller manages to maintain his unique voice on his instrument.

 

Wackerman keeps things moving with his typically and engagingly busy and fidgety percussion, placing his kit front and center without ever detracting from the fluidity of his compositions and the sonic contributions of his versatile and dynamic players.

 

--Raj Manoharan