Street Date 03/20/12
Available for pre-order on http://www.amazon.com/ now.
Chris Standring does a riff on himself...Well...sort of.
In a recent interview with Standring he explained that the original idea of Electric Wonderland was to try and take the critically acclaimed 2010 release Blue Bolero to the next level. Standring was hoping to push the string concept by exploring a darker sound and to delve deeper into his own musical psyche.
A funny thing happened on the way to the studio.
Chris Standring had somewhat of a musical epiphany. Standring's moment of sonic self discovery had him realize that as a rather happy go lucky gent, that darker musical side was somewhat non existent. Electric Wonderland still utilizes the string quartet but in a more open format allowing a dreamier and slightly psychedelic vibe to come through. This is contemporary jazz pushed to a new sonic edge with hints of blues and the long lost new age genre reinvented with a more expressive jazz sensibility.
Kicking the release off we find "Pandora's Box" with a smoldering groove bordering on acid jazz lite. This funkalicious delight includes Standring's long time friend Rodney Lee on fender rhodes which adds a rich sonic depth of field complemented with Standring's single note zen like articulation - no notes are wasted. Less is indeed more. "All That Glitters" is a captivating fusion of a more modern jazz sound with a slight new age twist for a more spacious feel not found in what many consider the more traditional contemporary jazz recordings. The first single (You Tube Video included here) "Oliver's Twist" is another groove you hear with your hips and feel with your feet. "Heart Of The Matter" is a lyrical and emotionally charged number, expansive and somewhat cinematic in form and function. There is a common and somewhat misguided notion that virtually everything coming out of the more contemporary side of jazz is generic, bland and boring. Electric Wonderland is a sonic exploratory from a most gifted artist that pushes past the accepted level of mediocrity and attempts to push past self imposed limitations associated with the genre.
The use or perhaps misuse of strings could be the equivalent of tap dancing in a musical minefield for most artists. Instead of simply phoning it in, Standring delivers a striking new organic sound and elevates the bar for the contemporary side of the jazz street.
Chris Standring welcomes you to the land of rhythm and groove with a warm organic spin on what he does best. While Standring plans to continue his use and development of strings within his sound, Electric Wonderland makes it clear there are no dark corners of musical mystery here. Chris Standring simple takes a good thing and makes it better!
5 Stars
Tracks: Pandora's Box; Almost September; All That Glitters; Oliver's Twist; Wishful Thinking; Heart Of The Matter; Escapade; Merry Go Round; Castle In The Sky; Nightingale's Bridge.
Personnel: Chris Standring: guitar, keyboards, guitarlele, vocals, talk box; Rodney Lee: fender rhodes; Jimmy Earl: electric bass; Nikki Garcia: violin; Barbara Porter: violin; Tom Tally: viola; Cameron Stone: cello; Rick Braun: trumpet & flugelhorn; Mitchel Forman: acoustic piano; Dan Lutz: acoustic bass; Larry Steen: acoustic bass; David Karasony: drums; Andre Berry: electric bass; Oscar Seaton: drums; Dino Soldo: saxes, clarinet, ewi.
Photo courtesy of http://www.chrisstandring.com/
Special Thanks to Michael Bloom Media Relations
Part One of My Interview With Chris Standring:
