The Berklee Sessions by Scanner & Neil Leonard
Robin Rimbaud a.k.a. Scanner is such a flexible musical persona and an overactive wood bug that digs the trajectories of different and diverse musical genres, you would never believe.
This cd is one of the evidence for this.
On the outside we have a solid ensemble of steady musicians that magically conjure groove and themes literally out of thin air - be it solid jazz groove or a funky ethnic beat - they are there. But in a go-between guy, a link between all this and added value of electronics is Robin himself.
Not only groove-inclined but also adding up the value of some solid lyrical aspect to all this and some musical sense of even a prog sound and definitely worth noting fantastic bass lines of Mike Riyard who just pinpoints everything what the rest of the ensemble does.
What Scanner does here with the keyboards is another thing - they sound both ethereal and sublime, sometimes remind me the best of anything new wave or early 80's King Crimson even but not the slightest, in any sense overdone.
The last time I enjoyed electronically infused coolness of jazz was probably when Triosk with Jan Jelinek were out and about. This is the quality of sound that brings that flavour and flair back.
Robin Rimbaud - Electronics, shortwave radio, keyboards
Neil Leonard - Soprano and alto saxophones, bass clarinet, and live electronics
David Tronzo - Electric (slide) guitar
Mike Rivard - Bass
Dean Johnston - Drums
Fred Oliveira - Tracking engineer
Artur Sandulyak - Mix engineer
Recorded live on 9 March 2014
Mixed and produced by Robin Rimbaud
Composed by Robin Rimbaud, but the recordings were extensively improvised by the musicians
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