Kung Fu's Debut "Self Titled" Album

-

Words By J-man

The "super-group" Kung Fu was spawned directly out of the east coast jam scene via a Monday night jam session. Comprised of members of The Breakfast, RAQ, Scofield/Jazz is Dead and Deep Banana Blackout, one would assume their sound would reflect that of all of their parts. But indeed, Kung Fu is all together something different. On a mission to bring jazz fusion back, Kung Fu has released their debut album appropriately titled Kung Fu.

Kung Fu is a near straight fusion album that packs one hell of a punch. Every member of the band plays a crucial roll in it's production. The melody lines are all over the place, yet the band's composition is tight through some impressive instrumentation. Tim Palmieri's guitar work screams of focused practice and control. Todd Stoops' key work is at times, near terrifying and his musical relationship with Tim seems limitless.

On the Saxophone, Robert Somerville. Robert's playing is very straight ahead and clean. His tonal quality is reminiscent of many of the pioneers. David Livolsi's bass playing was intense and extremely prominent. David does not hide in the shadows of the background. He is right up front for all to hear. As is Adrian Tramantano on drums. His precision, accuracy and ability to take over is as noticeable as a smack in the face, as well is deep rooted in variety.

Kung Fu is a great album for any jam, jazz or fusion fan. But as is necessary to note, this album is not for the faint of heart. Enjoy with caution and an open mind. Kung Fu and it's members didn't pave the the way for the genre, but they are taking it to the next level and building on some of the most enjoyable aspects of jazz, jam, fusion and funk!

www.kungfumusic.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

-
Image
Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus
Read more

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

-
Image
Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least
Read more

Billy Strings 4.18.19

-
Image
Salvage Station Asheville, NC Words by Jason Mebane Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography When asked to write a review of last week's Billy Strings show at Asheville, North Carolina's Salvage Station I almost passed on it. I just wrote a review of his last Asheville show a few months ago and I thought it may be hard to come up with another set of words to describe to the readers exactly what a Billy Strings show is all about. I am sure there are a plethora of other reviews that other people have written focusing on how well he has mastered his instrument. I suppose I could recycle those thoughts and just sit here typing out a few adjectives describing each note Billy and his superb backing band played this past Thursday night, but that wouldn't be fun for me. Additionally I'd imagine a review like that wouldn't keep your attention either. Instead I have decided to focus on a few random parts of the Billy Strings show that seemed interesting to me. One: B
Read more