The Lounge Lizards, Queen of All Ears

U.S., 1998

I really didn't know about John Lurie – or The Lounge Lizards for that matter – until a few days ago on a bus ride where this friend showed me some tracks off of this record. I stood amazed; great rhythmic/melodic constructions and such harmonies that left me staggered.
On the other hand, it is (not just) jazz – whatever that might mean to you – but music which I'm sure you'll find, at the very least, amusing.


Playlist:

1. The First and Royal Queen
2. The Birds Near Her House
3. Scary Children
4. She Drove Me Mad
5. Queen Of All Ears
6. Monsters Over Bangkok
7. Three Crowns of Wood
8. John Zorn's S&M Circus
9. Yak
10. Queen Reprise

Link.

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Buckethead / Travis Dickerson / Brain, The Dragons of Eden

US, 2008.

The Dragons of Eden is an album made by guitarist Buckethead, producer and keyboardist Travis Dickerson and drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia. Pretty good prog/fusion stuff.

Playlist:

1. The Cosmic Calendar
2. The Brain and the Chariot
3. The Abstractions of Beasts
4. Tales of Dim Eden
5. Lovers and Madmen
6. Future Evolution
7. Draco
8. Knowledge Is Destiny

Link.

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Trilok Gurtu, Massical

India, 2009

I have to admit I don't know that much about Trilok Gurtu, except that he is, aside from a world class percussionist, a frequent collaborator of great musicians such as John McLaughlin or Jan Garbarek.
This was an album that got me right away. Sure, it has your usual jazz stuff too, but it is still a beautiful fusion effort. And what a gorgeous cover too.


Playlist:

1. Seven Notes To Heaven
2. Bridges
3. Mumbai Shuffle
4. Havatight
5. Dive In
6. Monk-E-Desh
7. Kuruksetra
8. Pathri
9. Etnosur
10. Massical


Link.

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The Deserts Of Träun, Part III: The Lilac Moon

US, 2003.

David Murray's (Estradasphere, Sculptured) solo project is "a musical adventure allying the use of jazz, funk, classical, black/death metal, rock, fusion, world, video game and electronic music to sonically describe settings, character personalities and events to an original science fiction comic book epic."

Playlist:

1. Awaiting The Majesty Of Extremes
2. The Detective In Disguise
3. Report To The Fruitless Kingdom
4. The Detective & Gary Prepare
5. Searching The Swamps
6. The Court Of The Blackmetal Princess
7. Escape From The Crystal Caverns
8. Descending The Crystal Mountain
9. The Desert Of Träun
10. Greetings From The Lilac Moon
11. Seeking The Navigator
12. Prisoner In The Brig
13. Battle Upon The Space Galleon
14. Awaiting The Sun
15. Sailing The Electrolytic Ocean
16. The Gift Of The Whirlpool Vortex
17. Longing & Foreseeing
18. The Uncompromising Blizzard
19. The Cave
20. An Unlikely Visitor
21. Infiltrating The Fortress Of Absolute Zero
22. Showdown In The Atrium Of Fallacious Foliage
23. Homecoming In The Fruitless Kingdom
24. The Destruction Of The Elevator

Link.

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Billy Cobham, Spectrum

US/Panama, 1973

Bitches Brew might have defined the genre, but Spectrum is still considered by many as the pinnacle of jazz fusion building on the unique melting pot of rhythms developed during Mahavishnu Orchestra.


Playlist:

01 - Quadrant 4
02 - Searching for the Right Door / Spectrum
03 - Anxiety / Taurian Matador
04 - Stratus
05 - To the Women in My Life / Le Lis
06 - Snoopy's Search / Red Baron

Link.

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Spastic Ink, Ink Complete

U.S., 1997

Even though the amount of musical notes hereby contained actually make my ears itch, this is the proof that Ron Jarzombek is either a lunatic or a tasteful musician; probably both.

It's not usual to find a record with such a sensible notion of music that eventhough positioned as virtuoso/fusion/progressive metal, finds its humility in blending and paying attention to such nuances as human speech factors, dynamic and complex tempo changes, and still find the humour to tell musical tales of a squirrel on the prowl for some breakfast or Thumper's scene from Disney's Bambi.

...it still has a horrible sleeve.


Playlist:

1. Mad Data Race
2. A Morning With Squeakie
3. Just A Little Dirty
4. See, And It's Sharp!
5. Suspended On All Fours
6. A Wild Hare
7. Harm And Half
8. To Counter And Groove In E Minor
9. That 178 Thing
10. Eights Is Enough
11. Mosquito Brain Surgery


Link.

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Disen Gage, The Screw-Loose Entertainment

Russia, 2004.

Disen Gage is a unique mixture of various instrumental genres, including fripp-rock, progressive, fusion, world-music, psychedelic and improvised spots.

Playlist:

1. Solaris
2. Komar
3. Augenapfel
4. Kategeriin
5. Arabia
6. Chinagroove #17
7. Witchtanz
8. Latino
9. Jewboilove
10. Waltz

Link.

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