E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Tohpati is one of most exciting guitarists to emerge from Indonesia, and for his third release on the MoonJune Record label, (following 2010's "Ethnomission, "Save The Planet", and 2012's "Bertiga", and "Riot", Tohpati is joined by two other renowned maestros; bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Chad Wackerman who appeared together on the Allan Holdsworth- Alan Pasqua "Blues For Tony" project. The result is an album of "brilliantly conceived and executed music, evidenced by a wellspring of inspired interplay, a delightful chemistry and bursts of intense, spontaneous genius." "On Tribal Dance, there's no shortage of Tohpati's trademark breathtaking, acrobatic axe-wielding. Towering power chords, distorted spare-note lead lines, unexpected machine gun-blasting sonic assaults, chugging rhythmic grooves, and even a host of elegantly-nuanced jazz phrasings, are all in attendance -- summoned at will, and in omnipotent f...

The Lords of Outland will release The Proceedings of Dr. Ké on April 22, 2014 the group’s 12th recording. To celebrate the release and their 20th Anniversary, Lords of Outland will perform at the Outsound’s Flagship SIMM Series at the Musicians Union Hall in San Francisco, starting at 7:30pm on Sunday, April 27. Tickets are $10, and will be available at the Door the night of the concert. Saxophonist, composer Rent Romus started the Lords of Outland in 1994 a collective of like-minded musicians focusing on exploring improvisation, melody, noise, and sound art while acknowledging their jazz, rock, and blues roots. Under Romus’ direction the collective has developed original music ranging from unhinged guttural free improvisation to thematic suites inspired by abstract and socio-political prose, poetry, science fiction, and horror. Performing artists will include a cross section of past and current roster members: Dave Mihaly - drums, Bill Noertker - bass, Philip Everett - drums, Ray Sche...