I'm just passing this along, but don't have a ton to write about it at this point. With Jordan and Ponty and that rhythm section, the odds of this sounding jazz-fusiony seem high. An odd mix, with a drummer who played with Michael Jackson even.
I hope this will end up being not so much one of those super groups on paper people salivate over, but doesn't really translate to WRITING GOOD SONGS, JAMS,ETC. But I guess with that in mind, it'll certainly be worth looking forward to. This article says it's being recorded in May, so it may even get released by the end of 2014. We'll see.
This group LIVE might be more intriguing certainly.
http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/03/23/very-very-funky-slightly-sort-of-cosmic-guys-ex-yes-man-jon-anderson-puts-finishing-touches-on-new-band/
Jon Anderson, who has principally toured as a solo act since leaving Yes in 2004, is building a new band around the former Mahavishnu Orchestra violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Now, he’s ready to talk about the rest of the lineup.
“We got in touch with [Dream Theater stalwart] Jordan Rudess, who is really a ridiculous piano and keyboard player and a really great rhythm-section players,” Anderson tells Aspen Public Radio. “You’ve got Rayford [Griffin] on drums, and Baron [Browne] on bass. These are very, very funky, slightly sort of cosmic guys. Everybody seems to be on the same sort of planet, which is kind of nice.”
Griffin has worked as a sideman over the years with Ponty, Stanley Clarke and Michael Jackson, among others. Browne has also collaborated with Ponty before, as well as Billy Cobham, Steve Smith’s Vital Information and Brian McKnight.
Anderson says he met Ponty when “he played on a track that I did with a friend of mine, Michael Lewis — who introduced my to Jean-Luc.” Anderson adds that they hope to begin recording in May and June. “We’ll just see what comes,” he says. “We’ve already written some music together via the internet, which is a great modern studio. We’re sort of on the way.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that he’ll be mounting the kind of globe-trotting tours that his former band became known for over the years. “It’s not something that I miss at all,” Anderson says. “I’m just starting up with a new band this summer, and we’re going to do some recording for next year. If it happens, I will be very happy. But it’s not the reason why you make music.”
