Browse by Label: ENGINE STUDIOS

Artist:	SMITH AND THE COMPOSER'S WORKSHOP ENSEMBLE, WARREN
Title:	Old News Borrowed Blues
Label:	ENGINE STUDIOS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	E 027CD

"On Old News Borrowed Blues Warren Smith gathers the Composer's Workshop Ensemble to explore his approach to music, which he refers to as 'a little bit inside, a little bit outside.' Starting the album out with an energetic big band opener, 'Lock the Toilet Door,' the band follows up with 'Rivers State Suite,' a polyrhythmic multi-segment tone poem inspired by a trip to Nigeria. 'The Hungarian Gypsy Song' features a haunting melody on soprano sax with tasteful backup from the rest of the band. After another more traditional big band number, 'One More Lick for Harold Vick,' the album closes with the sprawling avant 'Free Forms 1-4,' a less structured open piece with intro bass work, an over the top baritone sax solo followed by solos from other horns and vibes, and a closing poem read by Warren Smith."

Artist:	ABBS & FREQUENCY RESPONSE, TOM
Title:	Lost & Found
Label:	ENGINE STUDIOS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	E 031CD

"In his third outing leading the Frequency Response group, Tom Abbs (Yuganaut, Cooper-Moore's Triptych Myth, Andrew Lamb Trio) takes you through a mesmerizing mix of free-jazz, groove, third wave and noise. From the heart wrenching title track 'Lost,' which congers the spirit of Albert Alyer, to the Afro-rhythms and pentatonic melodies of the title track 'Found,' the music flows from one spectrum to another with ease. Harnessing the power of percussionist Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground, Mark Ribot's Spiritual Unity Band), violinist Jean Cook (Gena Rowlands Band, Ida), and reed man Brian Settles (Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up), Abbs' haunting compositions will pull at your heart strings and make you want to dance."

Artist:	HOOKER TRIO, WILLIAM
Title:	Yearn For Certainty
Label:	ENGINE STUDIOS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	E 032CD

"Building a masterful solo as revenge, as fuel to the scheme of dreaming." -- William Hooker. "It is too simplistic to categorize William Hooker as a fiery drummer who constantly explores structure and genre. As evidenced by the quote above from the spoken piece at the end of this recording, William's playing is connected to an emotional world and the world at large. Bookended by two spoken word pieces, 'Ingratiated Beam -- Leroy' and 'Yearn for Certainty', the title refers to the desire to know specifically and certainly how the world is to evolve forward. In between there is the down home banjo/sax of 'Century's Soles', the rainy bluster of 'Commonplace Travels', and the drum solo-clarinet solo-trio explosion of 'Magistrait.' Joined by multi-instrumentalists David Soldier (classical guitar, banjo, mandolin, and violin) and Sabir Mateen (saxophone, flute, and clarinet) the William Hooker Trio is both tender and thunderous on Yearn for Certainty." Personnel: William Hooker (drums, spoken word); David Soldier (mandolin, banjo, violin); Sabir Mateen (saxophone, flute, clarinet).

Artist:	YUGANAUT
Title:	Sharks
Label:	ENGINE STUDIOS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	E 034CD

"Calling the three members of Yuganaut 'multi-instrumentalists' is a little too easy. What is needed is some kind of word that would connote being multiple bands. Between them they could be a small brass group, an electric chamber ensemble or a straight-ahead jazz trio. But such formal confines may not leave room for the moments of playfulness or the passages of spacey psychedelia that sneak in between their evocative and highly original sounds. Between them, band members Stephen Rush, Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann play Fender Rhodes and Moog synthesizer; trumpet, trombone and tuba; bass, cello and violin; and drums, toys and didgeridoo. Does that sound streamlined? Their previous release also included mandolin, euphonium and vibes. More important than the listing of implements is the fact that the three gentlemen of Yuganaut are more than conscientious about leaving room in the music, not just for each other but to let the music grow. Between them they can boast of Reggie Workman's tutelage, performance with the Warsaw National Symphony and membership in the Fela-inspired Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Which is to say there is tradition, formalism, groove and a sense of fun at play. They are at core, perhaps, a jazz band; but being a jazz band means (or should mean) that anything is possible. There's ritual, there's storytelling, they're contemplative, extrapolative, expressive, even impressive. Yuganaut is not here to be pigeon-holed. They're just here to play for you."

Previous Page Index of Labels Next Page