mniumgatherum, guitarist Curtis Reid's new album is, as the name implies, a showcase for his rock roots which he fuses with various other eclectic styles to give a musical collection that flits between some delightful rocking numbers and other more placid easy listening jazz pieces. Omniumgatherum actually means "a miscellaneous collection (as of things or persons)". Helping Reid out on this album are Mario Mendivil (bass), Gary Bruzzese (drums), Dan Tomlinson of Acoustic Academy (drums), Guy LeBlanc of Nathan Mahl (Hammond organ) and Aimee Davis (voice).
The album in fact opens with an abstract number, Reciprocity, which betrays the combination of jazz and rock that the album features as it merges into Application For President which has a Satriani/Vai touch to it, though not as heavy hitting. One of the most pleasant features of this album is the way Reid goes about introducing various styles on different tracks without causing the flow of the music to jar.
The Ghosts Of Narcissism has a Pat Methney/Tunnels touch to it. In fact Pat Methney seems to have been an inspiration to this guitarist as he even includes Unquity Road by the said guitarist on Somewhere Between Theory & Forgiveness. This last track also feature Aimee Davis' harrowing vocals which coupled with Reid's play on harmonics broaden the sonic atmosphere giving it an eerie feeling.
Another feature of Reid's repertoire is his blues influences. These surface on tracks such as Time Won't Change For Places To Wait which though mellow evokes the touches of fellow guitarists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey. James Marshall is much more of a blues stomper and is the first (and only) track to feature Reid on vocals.
The album comes to a close with (They Say) The West Is Nice This Time Of Year which is the longest and most placid of the tracks on the album. Once again the references are made to the works of musicians such as Pat Methney. All in all the album might come as a bit of a surprise to those who had Reid's previous work which had a stronger rock reference and which would have pleased the progressive rock lover somewhat more. The execution of the album is great but will be of interest to those who like to hear the mellower side of jazz. In progressive rock terms, there is very little to harp on about on this album.
mniumgatherum, guitarist Curtis Reid's new album is, as the name implies, a showcase for his rock roots which he fuses with various other eclectic styles to give a musical collection that flits between some delightful rocking numbers and other more placid easy listening jazz pieces. Omniumgatherum actually means "a miscellaneous collection (as of things or persons)". Helping Reid out on this album are Mario Mendivil (bass), Gary Bruzzese (drums), Dan Tomlinson of Acoustic Academy (drums), Guy LeBlanc of Nathan Mahl (Hammond organ) and Aimee Davis (voice). 