Rhythm Tabla

Jordan Rudess - Rhythm Of Time Magna Carta “Dream Theater,” keyboardist Jordan Rudess and a slew of progressive-rock guitar gods navigate tricky time signatures on this high-flying production. At times, it’s difficult to discern whether it’s Rudess performing his synth lines or guitarists such as Greg Howe and Joe Satriani’s, high-tech – into the ozone – type leads. Essentially, Rudess is a speed demon on the keys. Occasionally, he interjects slick jazz grooves into the mix, but the thrust of this generally, soaring affair is rooted within his polytonal chord progressions, and layered orchestrations. And as we might expect, drummer Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs) handles the difficult pulses with chutzpah along with a whiz-bang approach to dynamics.

Lo. Def Pressure consists of two extended compositions (both over 20 minutes) from genre-expanding musician/composer/producer Bill Laswell. Featuring a group of percussionists (including the exceptional tabla player Zakir Hussain) and sound generators, the results are texture-heavy excursions into rhythm that combine ancient musical traditions with modern beat science. It's a meeting of old and new, East and West that has taken place on Laswell's recordings ever since talking drums and tablas met drifting new age ambience on 1988's Hear No Evil. With Lo. Def Pressure, however, he has proven that the same preoccupations can make for captivating music over two decades into his career.

A new set by British saxophonist and composer Andy Sheppard is always a welcome proposal, but his 13th album, and 14th release overall, also happens to be his debut for ECM. The association is a long one, indirectly, since Sheppard recorded a dozen albums with Carla Bley's band on WATT, which is manufactured and distributed by ECM. The music on Movements in Colour is an ambitious, but utterly lyrical blend of Latin, Middle Eastern, and post-bop, and it is realized by musicians such as jazz guitarist John Parricelli (who plays acoustically here) and tabla player Kuljit Bhamra – members of Sheppard's regular quartet – guitarist and electronic musician Eivind Aarset, and double bassist Arild Andersen, who also plays some electronics.