Progressive Rock

[Music] Verneri Pohjola – Pekka

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

I’m absolutely pleased to announce an upcoming album by Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, titled Pekka. For those of you whose age hovers between 45 and 70 and were card-carrying members of the magic-hat-and-bunny-slippers brigade of prog rock aficionados, you will remember the legendary bassist Pekka Pohjola, who performed with such bands as Wigwam and collaborated with Mike Oldfield, among many others.

Verneri’s album will be a tribute to his father’s memory, and judging by the quality of the track being shared at the moment, it’s quite a lovely tribute.

[Music] The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections – Dead Beat

/ Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

This has to be the release of 2017, as least as far as March!

Our friends The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections have graced our blog once before, in April of 2016 for a review of an incredible live performance in Odessa. The band return with a new, seven-track album which is as rich, dark and sumptuous as anything released by groups like the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Bohren & der Club of Gore and other such acts. In fact, I’d be willing to say that the beauty of this album surpasses these stalwarts.

The album consists of smoky jazz that sits somewhere between fusion and trip-hop. The guitar playing is minimal, gentle, but totally in keeping with the darkness of the music. The drumming, however, is what makes the release for me. It is sparse, minimal, with singular beats, serving as a wonderful linchpin to the rest of the instrumentation floating above.

After such a splendid release, we wait more magic from the band