The Jelly Jam - Profit (2015-2016)

The 1st single linked on the FB page isn't bad, namely the dreamy outro. I honestly don't even recall much about their last album from a couple of years ago, except not really getting all that into it. But perhaps this one will do more for me? The concept sounds interesting as well.

And I am up for hearing anything with Ty and John Myung regardless.

May 27th is the release date. And there are supposed to be some tour dates in fact, although the odds of a date coming to Minnesota are about as good as some of their music being played on 89.3 or 93X I suppose, lol.

Facebook Link with stream of 1st single "Care."

Preorder incl Vinyl



Tracklisting:
1. Care
2. Stain On The Sun
3. Water
4. Stop
5. Perfect Lines (Flyin')
6. Mr. Man
7. Memphis
8. Ghost Town
9. Heaven
10. Permanent Hold
11. Fallen
12. Strong Belief

MUSIC THEORIES RECORDINGS RELEASES THE FOURTH ALBUM ‘PROFIT’ OF ALL-STAR PROG ROCK BAND THE JELLY JAM ON MAY 27

Music Theories Recordings will release The Jelly Jam’s fourth full-length album Profit on May 27. The Jelly Jam is a three-piece rock band, consisting of Ty Tabor of King’s X on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Rod Morgenstein of The Dixie Dregs and Winger on drums and keyboards; and John Myung of Dream Theater on bass, moog, and chapman stick.

What was a kind of outlet for creative surplus and started under the name Platypus a few years ago, has now established itself in the form a solid community. After the release of two records and after the leaving of keyboarder Derek Sherinian, the remaining Platypus protagonists Ty Tabor, John Myung and Rod Morgenstein sought new challenges under the banner of The Jelly Jam. In 2002 their self-named debut album came out; two years later, the successor 2 was delivered to the shops and in 2011 the band released their third album Shall We Descend.

Their upcoming album, Profit, will be the band’s first all-out concept album with the basic story written around the idea that we, the people of Earth have abused and exhausted the planet’s resources forcing mankind to either find a new home or face extinction.

The Pneumatic Transit - Concerto for Double Moon (2014-2015)

The Pneumatic Transit on Facebook



Concerto For Double Moon Trailer from The Pneumatic Transit on Vimeo.


So this band/project The Pneumatic Transit, is more or less the baby/brainchild of Jeff Zampillo, who formerly had been with Exotic Animal Petting Zoo on their last (final?) album Tree of Tongues. The Pneumatic Transit though, on this debut album of theirs, Concerto for Double Moon, does not include any vocals and stylistically, is very much in the Jazz-Fusion or Jazz-Rock style.

What allows them to stand out though, it seems is their use of Cello, which from memory, I don't know many Jazz-Rock bands who've ever used Cello, at least prominently. I suppose bands like Mahanishnu Orchestra and The Dixie Dregs (or The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra) have featured violin (or fiddle) of course, but not necessarily in this way. At points, kind of metallic. At points, I thought of a band like Judgement Day even, in how heavy the cello sounded.

But beyond that, I think this album seems like the product of a lot of extensive work by Jeff and his band, which includes the sadly, late drummer Michael Mirro. A lot of his drum work is incredibly crisp and clean sounding. From the cymbal to the snare work. Very much a feature, like many of the fusion bands have had.

Overall, while I'm not sure how addictive this album has been, I still am marveled by a ton of it. It's quite impressive from a musicianship standpoint, and Composition-al standpoint,. A lot of less-is-more certainly, even at 51 minutes in length.. And it is definitely one of my favorite instrumental records and overall, for this year.

I would highly suggest people into progressive rock and jazz-rock/fusion to check it out. Especially fans of Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson as the influence (in a good way) seems apparent throughout much of it.

Concerto for Double Moon is to be released on Tuesday October 13th, 2015.

The track list and writeup below offer more details.


1. Colloquium 1:01
2. Icarian Games 8:37
3. Apparition of Rosalyn 6:49
4. Benzedrine Cloud Burst 3:04
5. An Atlas of Oceanic Coves 7:44
6. Hypoxia 1:34
7. The Meketrex Supplicant 2:28
8. Enochian Dyskinesia 7:13
9. Sparrow Sparrow 2:15
10. Lioness 7:34
11. Silent Waves of Sleeping Soothsayers 2:41

The opening 1st track "Colloquium" is  short table-setter, that says hello with drums and a dissonant saxophone flurry of riffs. A bit chaotic, for even as short as it is. I suppose it is  slightly free-jazz-like.

The 2nd track "Icarian Games" starts out with this great driving riff from the guitar and fueled by the drums. It's odd though as after listening to it, I have an earworm that has me reminded  of Led Zeppelin, specifically "In the Light" for some reason. Also there's a patch used by their keyboard player in a short section that does remind me a lot of Return to Forever. Along with a lot of the twangy guitar riffs have a John McLaiughlin-like quality to them. Also the dynamics in this song stand out,  from the heavy and fast rhythm, that segue to softer sections that are slower.

Track 3 "Apparition of Rosalyn" opens with this odd, minor-key riff, but shortly after goes into a section with some clean guitar along with more keys. Eventually it gets rather atmospheric with a contrast of sounds from the Cello and Sax.

Track 4  "Benzedrine Cloud Burst" A shorter piece that also creates a nice atmospheric vibe. The Cello at times has me reminded of Return to Forever among some others.

The 5th piece "An Atlas of Oceanic Coves" has this intermittent use of fat synthesizers that create a dark atmosphere. It has a bit if a King Crimson influence at points, with its rich use of strings. It also includes some additional musicians on bass and drums.

Track 6  "Hypoxia" is an environmental interlude, that has what sounds like a Flute, which seems to be a patch used by the keyboards. It seems to echo the cello arrangement from at least 1 or more other sections on the record.

The 7th track "The Meketrex Supplicant"  like "Icarian Games" features another driving riff,  with strings and at points another dark, heavy oscillator tone from the keyboards.

The 8th track "Enochian Dyskinesia" is one of my favorites on Concerto for Double Moon.  It's led by this great funky, groove-ish riff from the guitar.  The Cello at points goes up and down in emphasis.  The 2nd half ends up having many layers being added as it gets more complex. Mostly between the guitar (a lot of picking) and the saxophone. A bit like the great Minnesota jazz-rock band Media Addicts have done. It concludes with a nice, clean string outro.

Track 9 "Sparrow Sparrow" is a cello driven piece that like many others, seems to be cleverly put together in the studio, with many layers eventually being added as it goes along, eventually to a wonderful climax.

The 10th track "Lioness" is another one of my favorites. The sax melody is rather ear-wormy, with its majestic theme that almost sounds like a March.  It also includes many layers of cello, that gradually build more and more. Eventually they fade and lead to a circus-like section. King Crimson seems to be clearly an influence on this piece, namely from the Red era it seems.

The 11th and closing track "Silent Waves of Sleeping Soothsayers" echoes the theme from "Lioness" on Cello. The drum work and use of harpsichord add more to this one at points. I am reminded of King Crimson again here, in a good way.


edit: Preorder is now up. $5 and includes a download of "Enochian Dykinesia"

The Dixie Dregs on the Tonight Show 1993 = FAIL

I just stumbled upon this earlier, and had no idea the Dregs appeared on a Late Night Talk Show, especially as recently as 1993.

But my reaction was while their performance is good, why on EARTH did they have to play a bloody MEDLEY? And for that matter, throwing in COVER TUNES within that.

I wonder if when they were asked on to the show, they told the producers the song they wanted to play was 6 or 7 minutes, and the producers said to them they couldn't do it, due to length, so they had to do something shorter.

It kind of brings up the idea of why for the most part, prog, at least when progressive rock (or jazz-fusion in this case?) when doing what they do best, doesn't seem likely to fit the confines of commercial radio or in this case, Major Network Talk Shows time restrictions.

I remember back around 2002/2003 when Dream Theater's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence was out, they were asked to go on The Today Show I think it was, and the producers only wanted them to play stripped down, shortened acoustic songs. And the band declined. 

Which kind of makes me wonder if other prog groups in the past either turned down offers due to what the show asked of them, or when they did appear, had to pick a song to play that fit the requirements of the show/producers.