ROBERT FRIPP, Music for Quiet Moments (DGM). Traditionally, music is intended to pull us out of ourselves and take us on a journey. Guitarist Robert Fripp has created a series of soundscapes that produce the opposite effect. Music for Quiet Moments asks us to remain still and journey deep within ourselves. The music (recorded at various locations in the mid- to late 2000’s) is very much of the moment, deep and contemplative, enhancing a trance-like state. Song titles are beside the point. This eight-CD set should NOT be binged. Nor should it be played at extreme volume. This is a collection designed purely for considerate, thoughtful listening. It is well worth the effort.

THE CHICAGO EXPERIMENT, The Chicago Experiment (Ropeadope). It’s the sound of the city: bass heavy, percussive, and groovy. Keyboardist Greg Spero leads an all-star crew of Chicago musicians (drummer Makaya McCraven, trumpeter Marquis Hill, vibraphonist Joel Ross, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Darryl Jones, and saxophonist Irvin Pierce) through a series of grooves that puts their confidence and ensemble playing abilities on full display. This band is the living embodiment of “more bounce to the ounce.”

MARKUS REUTER, Truce 2 (MoonJune Records). Dark, dissonant, and muscular … this is the sound of a band who’s had enough. U8 touch guitarist Markus Reuter may or may not have intended to do so, but he, bassist Fabio Trentini, and drummer Asaf Sirkis have created the official soundtrack for COVID-19. The music is as spirited as it is intense, with Reuter creating deep and heavy soundscapes to go with his stabbing guitar riffs, Trentini’s monstrous bass leads and grooves, and Sirkis’s hyperactive yet highly controlled drumming. It’s an abrupt shift from the last time these three collaborated, but by mo means should this be considered a bad thing.

#cirdecsongs

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (cirdecsongs) My book, I Can’t Be the Only One Hearing This: A Lifetime of Music Through Eclectic Ears, is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine book dealers. I’m currently working on my next book, The Wizard of WOO: The Life and Music of Bernie Worrell.

Would you like to have your record reviewed? Contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com