CD Review: New Music From Top Instrumental Artists Jamie Saft, Mumpbeak And Charles Brown

Composer/musician Jamie Saft has led a 30 year career in music. He's collaborated with music icons like the Beastie Boys, Bad Brain, The B-52s and Donovan and is preparing to release his latest studio album "Loneliness Road." Saft works with his trio which includes Steve Swallow on bass and Bobby Previte on drums as they move along swiftly to the swinging jazz of "Ten Nights." The shuffle of "Little Harbor" and the graceful waltz of "Bookmarking" lead up to a rare appearance by Iggy Pop. Pop's vocals in "Don't Lose Yourself" reminds us of the deep, soulful delivery Leonard Cohen as Pop takes a page out of Cohen's lyrical songbook. The tempo slows down for the bluesy-jazz of "Pinkus," before the steady beat of "The Barrier." Iggy Pop returns to close out the album with the mellow, pop gem "Loneliness Road" and the dark, quiet poetry of "Everyday" as Saft and band fill the vocal gaps with beautiful music. To find out more about this new release, please visit rarenoiserecords.com.

Progressive rock instrumentalists Mumpbeak are following up their 2013 self-titled debut album with a new adventure titled "Tooth." Led by keyboardist/composer Roy Powell, their new 7-song release blurs the lines between rock and jazz making this avant garde trio into one of the promising underground instrumental acts in the world. They get the energy flowing with the exploratory tones of "Boot," before taking you on a sonic adventure with the tempo switches of "Brick." The drumming of Torsteain Lofthus will blow you away at the start of "Saw," while bassist and longtime collaborator Lorenzo Feliciati steadies the drive on "Cot." The album closes with the epic 9-minute "Caboose" and the 7-minute jazz/funk collage "Stone." To find out more about Mumpbeak and their latest release "Tooth," please visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/mumpbeak.

One of the top independent progressive guitarists around is returning with a new album. Charles Brown recently released his new instrumental album "Explorer Of Life," which combines elements of progressive rock with jazz fusion to keep the music exciting without the need for words. His new 9-song release begins with the title-song "Explorer Of Life." The song carries a new wave rock vibe as Brown changes up the tempo. He builds up the intensity of "Parallel Journey" as he blasts the sonic landscape with his quickness on the strings. He dives further into his song structure with the progressive feel of the "Ecliptic Voyage," before slowing everything down to deliver the beautiful "Prelude" from Johann Sebastian Bach's "Cello Suite." Then he delivers his own atmospheric suite with the futuristic sounds of "Wind Of Darkness," before closing his new album with spacey blues/rock of "Spectral Voyage" and the gentle acoustics of "When The Sun Rises." To find out more about Charles Brown and his latest release "Explorer Of Life," please visit his Facebook page at facebook.com/CharlesBrownGuitarist.