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Spirit At Play
THIS CD HAS BLOWN ME AWAY!!!
Nataraja is an incredible new quartet assembled by British guitarist Jack Jennings. Jennings has extensively studied and taught Indian classical guitar and sitar. He has taken these influences and migrated them into the world of rock and jazz rock. The rhythm section is a bit of a surprise as they come from the prog rock work but they fit right in. John Jowitt (IQ, Frost*, Arena) on bass and Andy Edwards (Robert Plant, IQ, Frost*) are a volcanic rhythmic machine. I know Andy has deep interest in jazz rock/fusion so he didn't surprise me as much as John's bass work in this genre. Who knew? Richard Charles Boxley is credited with "analog modular synthesis". He contributes a textual, ambient element with drones coming into play in the background.
So you have this great foundation for Jack Jennings. His playing is unbelievable. His fingers fly - its just burning solos. He's clearly influenced by Jimi Hendrix and John McLaughlin. The music he has created is a melding of two worlds - Indian music and jazz rock. Clearly Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti are an influence on his writing. The band locks in and Jennings' soloing is blistering. Amazing! What's more amazing is that this was recorded live. In fact it may well have been the band's first live gig.
This is so unique and so fresh I can't stop raving about it. If you are tired of hearing the same old stuff and want to hear something that sounds vital you have to check out this album. I can't say I've heard anything else like it. Its still early in 2024 but this is my frontrunner for album of the year.
BUY OR DIE.
"Jack Jennings is one the few guitarists to fully adapt Indian Classical Music. He is disciple of sitar virtuoso's Roopa Panesar and Shakir Parvez Khan. He has worked with the legendary Pandit Sanju Sahai, Omar Peunte, Manish Pingle and Gurdain Rayatt and many others. His previous band Ashowka fused Indian Music with Rock/Jazz and was signed to Geoff Barrow’s (of Portishead) label in Bristol.
Andy Edwards is a drummer and producer. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ. As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
John Jowitt has been awarded the British Classic Rock Society's award for best bass player seventeen times! He is best known for his work with IQ, with whom he recorded five studio albums, as well as Frost*. He also recorded and played live with Arena, Ark and Jadis, as well as playing bass live for John Wetton, Uriah Heep, Peter Banks (Yes), Tim Bowness and John Young, amongst others.
At times otherworldly, the music of electronic composer and modular synthesist Richard Charles Boxley, aka Wave Tenet, takes inspiration from artists such as Brian Eno, Aphex Twin and Four Tet. Sitting firmly within the world of ambient electronic, Richard's music has been described as having "Beautiful haunting sounds..." and "Pure tonal and textural beauty!"."