Welcome to Buckyball Music HOME • ARTISTS • MUSIC • VIDEO • STORE • CONTACT US • LINKS |
MUSIC CATALOGUE: Brand X
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
Quotes For 'Natural Selection': This is the stuff. "Tunnels digs in with locked, organic grooves that underpin galactic explorations rich in melodic content." I first experienced Tunnels during a live performance of their Natural Selection CD at the Jazz Factory in Louisville, Kentucky. The New York based avant-garde fusion trio is driven by renowned bassist Percy Jones and vibraphone/percussionist Marc Wagnon. Combining their equally impressive artistic backgrounds, Jones and Wagnon transport the fusion of jazz and rock to another dimension-- creating imaginative soundscapes that awaken the senses. Natural Selections is the 5th release for Tunnels and we find them returning to the classic trio format with the "new guy" John O'Reilly Jr. on a very heavy rockin' drums. O'Reilly must have been a "natural selection" for this trio, as he fits in perfectly with bassist Percy Jones and his slappin' and poppin' and down right funkin'-it-up style. Jones could work within any funk, hard rock group and be a welcomed asset. Percy's wide range and immense talent has already taken the artist through different bands, such as Brand X, Phil Collins, Brian Eno and Suzanne Vega to name just a few. Together, Jones and O'Reilly make a rock-solid rhythm section that maybe more comparable to John Paul Jones and Bohnam than Ron Carter and Tony Williams, but I am sure Tunnels is not concerned with being a "standard" jazz group. Whether Tunnels will surge to the top of the current prog-rock/fusion renaissance remains to be seen, but the late 90's addition of the legendary British bassist Percy Jones hasn't hurt their standing. They open with "Devil's Staircase" written by and featuring Jones. Their music has a mysterious air with lots of syncopated beats and improvisation. Behind the adventure is a sense of order allowing the listener to engage. Jones and Wagon are the composers on the nine selections and we frequently find Percy out front as on "Soliton". But John steps up on "Enigma" and " Io's Dream" with funky prominent beats. Tunnels is focused on bringing us fresh sounds and Natural Selection continues on that path. The Band's new, fifth album "Natural Selection", is a collection of six- to eight-minute instrumentals that wander far afield, but seldom seem lost or aimless, with element of progressive rock, world music and ambient sound. Scott Hall Nuvo, Indianapolis ...So if it is indeed "tricky to rock a rhyme," perhaps it's even more awkward, nigh impossible even, to rock some jazz. you're left with some kind of unique, but nonetheless irreconcilable, aesthetic mulatto. And yet despite more than half a century of recorded evidence to support this fact, progressive rockers and forward-looking jazzers still persevere at this futile alchemy... But let's be honest some are just better at it than others. And along with the artists like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Frank Zappa, and the inimitable Miles Davis, you can count Tunnels among the more successful practitioners of the endeavor. The cornerstone of modern biology, natural selection holds that evolution is the result of favorable traits being more likely to survive and reproduce. In the case of Tunnels' fifth release, it's evident that this talented trio's exploratory powers continue to produce exciting, new, "genetic variations." By wide request, we will track more the forthcoming Tunnels CD titled Natural Selection. Percy Jones, Marc Wagnon, and John O'Reilly pack a punch on this excellent release. Thomas Gagliardi Host/Producer The Gagliarchives If there’s a better bassist on the planet than Percy Jones, the fact has yet to announce itself in the general consciousness. From the moment he splashed onto the scene in Brand X. After playing for Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, and a passel of prog luminaries and second-stringers, he went on to press solo CDs, all to critical acclaim, then returned to making gigs with Brand X and formed this unusual trio. Marc Wagnon wields the mallets here on a set of midi’ed vibes, allowing him a keyboard’s palette of tones and modes, taking the trad instrument’s abilities well beyond norms. However, he’s superior to many a pro ivory tickler (beats, f’rinstance, Tom Coster black and blue in short order), so the singularity is neither gimmickry nor novelty. Wagnon’s, in fact, establishing a new inroad. Normally, such triggered hybrids are dubious propositions, as in most guitar outboards, but the vibes player has crafted a curious new dynamism and wrings it for all its worth, such that one is reminded alternatingly of Joe Zawinul, Alan Holdsworth’s experimentations, the aforementioned Lumley (who must be lured back into the music scene firmly, dammit!!!), and a panoply of zenith synth players. John O’Reilly rounds out the threesome on a set of skins that never overwhelms, finding the perfect slot, acting as a one-man rhythm unit, sometimes companioned by Jones, who’s just too fiery to relax into a passive mode for more than half a minute. With progressive jazz/rock coming back into fashion, Tunnels might well be poised to be in the right place at the right time. Tunnels continues to push the boundaries with their chops and sound as the earth mover that powers it all. A tasty workout where everyone sweats and no one slacks, jazz/rock fans can turn out for this with their heads held high. A high octane outing where everything fits right in." Chris Spector Midwest Record Recap What instantly moved me about this album was its highly fresh sound, which can hardly be subjected to direct comparisons even with "Progressivity", let alone the band's first two studio outings. Well, it's still somewhat extraordinary to hear Tunnels without electric guitar ("Progressivity" features guitarist John Goodsall, but he only plays on three tracks there), but this their new effort clearly indicates that the veterans not only have well adopted to the change, but also seem to be better prepared for the searching out of undiscovered musical realms than ever before. Unlike many outfits working in the trio format, Tunnels aren't short of extra sounds - whether they work in the studio or do a live performance - which is in many ways thanks to Marc Wagnon's ability to use his virtual ensemble, MIDI-Vibes, in a really effective way, providing the group's overall sound with plenty of additional musical voices related to different instruments. Apart from drums, fretless bass and vibraphone itself, this album's sonic palette includes sounds of synthesizer, piano, harp, electric guitar and some woodwinds, let alone those uniquely unrecognizable and, hence, indescribable. Tunnels always were a tightly rehearsed unit playing mainly composed music with some essential impromptus (at least they were never keen on lengthy joint jams demanding spur-of-the-moment improvisations from everybody), but on this album their principal credo is reflected especially vividly. The structured Space Fusion they applied for the first time on "Progressivity" in receiving further development here has actually been carried to perfection, having found a somewhat restrained, yet still expressive and perceptible Gothic-like feeling. This way, Tunnels have invented a new musical language within the Jazz-Fusion genre. Lacking a better definition, I would call it Gothic Space-Fusion. Vitaly Menshikov Acid Dragon/Progressor.net It seems I will always have a place in my heart for Tunnels, simply because of Percy Jone's bass playing, what legacy he left on the prog/fusion scene with Brand X is legendary. As a member of Tunnels, he, and his cohorts are one of few bands that are seriously moving the demanding music of the progressive/fusion forward. I have been impressed by some of the bands' recordings thus far, but this one seems to have even taken them furthur along in the process of originality. Largely in part because of Marc Wagnon's development of synth voices that he employs on his unique Midi-Vibes instrument. He is a rare musician, in the league of Corea, Fleck, Ponty, etc, in that he has taken a traditional instrument, and modernized it's voicings, and has a constant inventive genious to his compositional and improvisational sense. He is able to provide depth, color, imageing, personality, structure, melody, and just about everything else for this trio. It's hard to believe I am listening to a three piece with all he contributes to the overall sound. MJ Brady Prognosis With only three members, Tunnels create a huge sound, that doesn’t dominate, but does a good job of filling the ear. There is not any fill or substandard tracks here. This is a band that knows when to extend a theme and when to stop. Natural Selection is a fully enjoyable listen that challenges the listener. If you are into fusion and jazz tinged rock, this CD will fit right into your collection. Steve Ambrosius Sea of Tranquility |