Rochester, New York’s Lloyd Milburn and his powerhouse jazz rock band have just released their new album Elekriti for download and on limited edition CD. Milburn is known primarily as a poet, writer and educator with several publishing credits to his name, so it’s a bit surprising that his music sounds like the second coming of John McLaughlin.
Milburn’s bio states that he began playing upright bass in New York orchestras, and later learned the bass parts on entire albums by Yes and Rush… for fun! However, it neglects to say whether Milburn plays bass exclusively in his own power trio (I believe his does), which has a very distinct Chris Squire Rickenbacker feel. Adding to the confusion, there’s also some excellent keyboard playing, which technically makes them a quartet. Apparently there are full band credits on the CD, but really, it doesn’t cost anything to add them to Bandcamp! The players recorded these six tracks live at Blackdog Studios in Rochester, followed by a year of tweaking and mixing. The recordings are generally quite clean, though Milburn does occasionally go a bit ’60s-crazy with the stereo panning. “My Highwire Act” is a lengthy 11-minute jam (as are most of these tracks) and comes roaring out of the gate in triple time with the energy and chops of Al DiMeola, Return To Forever, Billy Cobham and other jazz-prog combos. Atop a simple chord scheme, all the players take ferocious solo turns, sometimes grabbing the spotlight and other times intertwining and complementing each other, including a drum solo! By the time the track has finished we’ve had four distinct movements, including a more gentle picked section toward the end. “Elekriti” feels very much like a Mahavishnu Orchestra track, both in melodies and performance. Milburn’s own lyrics appear in this song, translated into Spanish and performed by Flamenco singer Curro Cueto of Sevilla, Spain, along with a poem sung by Vidya Naganathan. This song even features a vibes solo, followed by even more amazing guitar acrobatics and some lead playing by Milburn on bass. “Ascent” changes tack dramatically with a slower, Spanish-sounding instrumental with Milburn playing acoustic guitars, viola and Peruvian hand drum. Short but lovely. “In The Dark” is described as “lightning-in-a bottle funk-jazz-rock with power drumming, electric guitar shredding and of course untamed bass by the master of ceremonies, Lloyd Milburn.” The groove begins more laid-back funky with the guitarist improvising cool circular riffs over relatively simple chord schemes. Of course the playing escalates in skill and intensity, until at the end the drummer says: “I broke a stick.” “In Wildness” is another nearly solo tune by Milburn, who played acoustic guitars, bass and viola with percussion (bongos, congas, etc.) by Mark Drost. It’s a nice changeup from the full band sound, including a reappearance of flamenco singer Curro Cueto. The naturalistic playing melds into a strange and evocative soundscape of backward tracking and samples with Milburn’s bass taking center stage. “Hang Gliding” is an 11-minute concluding “wild ride with musical synergy captured live in the studio.” The guitarist vocalizes along with his playing for a cool effect, then blazes away for more killer soloing. The band pulls back for Milburn’s solo, then delves into a third movement before a series of descending riffs takes us to the explosive conclusion. If you love this type of music - and you know who you are - these guys have the goods and deliver in spades.
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