Marc Cary rekindles his Rhodes Ahead project with a long-awaited follow-up to the 1999 Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1. Rhodes Ahead Vol. 2 is another installment in the forward-thinking jazz pianist’s love affair with the venerable electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes and other electric-powered keyboards, showing his knack for deploying them in fresh and compelling ways.
Joining him on this second Rhodes Ahead go-around is Tarus Mateen (basses), Terreon “Tank” Gully (drums) — veterans from the Vol. 1 sessions — and Marc Cary Focus Trio percussionist/drummer Sameer Gupta on tabla. Igmar Thomas (trumpet), Arun Ramamurthy (violin), Aurelian Budynek (guitar) and Daniel Moreno (percussion) make guest appearances.
Something Else! Reviews is providing an advance appetizer from Cary’s exploratory new album with the exclusive stream premiere of the track “Astral Flight 17” above.
An ambient current runs through the song with warm Rhodes splotches amid a relentless rhythmic pattern that suggests drum ‘n’ bass, but there’s a firm jazz sensibility found in the free-floating feel and even in Cary’s Moog-like Access Virus synthesizer improvisations. In his own words, Cary reveals, “‘Astral Flight 17’ is in a time signature of eight and a half, but it’s played twice so it gives it a sense of resolution (17), it’s like a question and answer. It is an out-of-body experience. It’s a sonic interpretation of a dream. I’ve had recurring dreams like this where I fly over New York and I fly with my feet forward.”
Thus, the song is a sonic representation of that mental imagery and soon the sonic and the visual will come together in an upcoming video of “Astral Flight 17” being produced by French 3 artist Gael Perrin.
Look for Rhodes Ahead Vol. 2 to go on sale March 17, 2015 via Motéma Music. Visit Marc Cary’s website for further details.
Catch Marc Cary on tour at these dates and places:
February 21 /The Cell (Marc Cary residency) / New York, NY
February 25 / Portland Jazz Festival (Solo) / Portland, OR
March 5 / Kuumbwa Jazz (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Santa Cruz, CA
March 7 / Jazz Winterfest (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / San Jose, CA
March 13 / Theatre Victor Hugo (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Bagneux, France
March 14 / tbd (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Nice, France
March 15 / LantarenVenster (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Rotterdam, Neth.
March 17 /Le Cheval Blanc (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Schiltingheim, France
March 18 / Fasching (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Stockholm, Sweden
March 21 / tbd (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Bari, Italy
April 10-11 / Bohemian Cavern (RAV2 Launch) / Washington, DC
April 24 / Art Of Cool Festival (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / Durham, NC
April 25 / Sidedoor (RAV2 Launch) / Old Lyme, CT
May 9 / Kennedy Center “Harlem Nights, U Street Lights” / Washington, DC
May 10 / Apollo Theatre “Harlem Nights, U Street Lights” / New York, NY
May 23 / Jazz In The Round (Focus Trio presents RAV2) / London, England
feature photo by Tim Dickeson
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