Time To Mind The Mystics
Shifting Paradigm, 2022
8/10
Listen to Time To Mind The Mystics
The exceptional guitarist Dan Bruce sure is in fine company here, where the beta collective help birth a very atypical version of jazz with their electronic processing, ring modulators and synth stabs amid Bruce’s superb six string work.
The title track opens the listen with Bruce’s exciting guitar acrobatics, and it isn’t long until adventurous brass and wild drumming enter the free jazz exploration, and “Blueprint” follows with warm restraint as the warm piano and subdued horns emit much beauty. About halfway through, the playful vibraphone steers the tune into quicker areas of layered charm.
In the middle, “Slant” brings a dreamy appeal of agile synth thanks to Joel Negus, while “The Walk” recruits firm horns into the lush and strategically textured climate. “Moth Flame Blues” exits the listen playfully, and benefits much from bright sax, skilled vibraphone and Anthony Taddeo’s precise drumming.
A listen that thematically surrounds the interaction between humanity and technology, the improvisation versus composition and traditional meets futuristic vision makes for a very daring body of work.
Travels well with: Michael Leonhart Orchestra- The Normyn Suites; Roxy Coss- Disparate Parts