Total Guitar June 2018

Paris-born, New England-raised, long-time Chicago-residing Makaya McCraven has been at the forefront of genre-redefining movements in jazz since 2015, when he introduced the world to his unique brand of ‘organic beat music’ on the breakout album In The Moment. Culled, cut, post-produced & re-composed by Makaya using recordings of free improvisation he collected over dozens of live sessions in Chicago, through incubation & experimentation In The Moment established a procedural blueprint that he has since been sharpening & developing.

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a 5CD clamshell boxed set anthology by legendary guitarist, composer and instrumentalist ANTHONY PHILLIPS. Anthony was a founding member of Genesis alongside Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks with whom he recorded the albums From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass. After leaving the group in 1970, Anthony studied orchestration and harmony externally at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After passing his LGSM exams, he taught music at Reeds School and Peper Harrow whilst continuing to compose and record in his home studio.

Recorded at Seibu Theatre, Tokyo (June 3rd and 4th 1977). This album packs a wallop! Lots of outstanding music and playing from everyone in the group - Jun Fukamachi, Randy & Michael Brecker contributing songs from the Brecker Bros albums. The 2CD set is a must - the song Triangle Session is actually a note for note cover of John Lee & Gerry Brown's song Rise On from the recently reissued album Still Can't Say Enough that the Brecker Bros played -recommended along with the companion album Mango Sunrise! Kenji Ohmura nails the guitar on this song and the whole performance. The drummer, Martin Willweber, and bassist Kenji Takamizu are also excellent.

Thumbscrew demonstrates their unique collective musical vision in contrasting but complementary ways on two exciting new CDs. Ours and Theirs are the first to be released on a newly revamped Cuneiform Records, just returning from a hiatus. Comprised of longtime collaborators Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara, and Mary Halvorson, Thumbscrew is a true collaborative effort with all three members contributing at an equal rate both in terms of composition and improvisation.