Album Review: It Comes In Waves from Denin Slage-Koch

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Album:  It Comes In Waves
Artist:  Denin Slage-Koch
Label: Slage-Koch Records
Website:  www.deninkochmusic.com

Award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator Denin Slage-Koch demonstrates his zeal and striking melodic sensibilities on her latest recording It Comes In Waves.  His music illustrates the capacity of the human spirit to move forward with an uplifting outlook.  The bubbling mood of "The Road Home" stokes the embers of good cheer, as the serene swells of the title track bask the listener in a reclining climate reflective of David Brubeck.

The smooth radiance emanating from Slage-Koch's guitar strings along "One For Honey" has a soft bluesy texture amplified by the rollicking beats of Bobby Wiens's drums and Gavin Allen-Dunn's tricking keys.  "The Cost of Apathy" shifts the recording into a mellow ambience as the horns vibrate at varied temperaments from a sullen stride to soaring brightly, flanked by brushed drums and subdued keyboard doodles.

Slage-Koch's rendition of Tears for Fears's pop single "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" is an inspiring tribute that heightens the tranquil warmth flickering from Koch's guitar strings.  The unbridled fervor, which the  musicians play with through "Continue," is magnetic, drawing the listener into the sizzling whirlwind.  The tempo slows to a bluesy rock trundle along "Signal Fires," releasing a salvo of flaming streaks from Koch's guitar strings with the reverberation of Jimmy Page-inspired shredding.  The recording closes with the sedate atmospheric of "Quiet Year," as the ruminating strings of Slage-Koch's guitar lull the listener into a blissful frame of mind.

Featuring eight new compositions by Slage-Koch and his arrangement of the Tears for Fears classic pop tune “Everybody Wants to Rule The World," the release transitions from unbridled firestorms to smooth lullaby's with the ease of a seasoned leader.  Slage-Koch's melodic sensibilities enable the music to glow with a pristine shine.  This project is funded in part by the Pathways to Jazz grant, a donor-advised fund of the Boulder County Arts Alliance, and the Weld Community Foundation.

Musicians:
Denin Slage-Koch - electric and acoustic guitars
Ryan Keberle - trombone
Jared Cathey - clarinet
Shane Endsley - trumpet and flugelhorn
Gavin Allen-Dunn - keyboards
Seth Lewis - bass
Bobby Wiens - drums and percussion

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