Album Review: Owl Dreams from Dharma Down

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Album:  Owl Dreams
Artist:  Dharma Down
Label: Dharma Down Records DD001
Website: www.dharmadown.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dharmadownband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dharmadownband/

Sensual and exotic, the music of Dharma Down shines a spotlight on the confluence of Arabic rhythms, folkloric tableaus, Eastern European vibrations, and modern jazz idioms.  Comprised of Duncan Hardy on alto saxophone and qanun, Mike Effenberger on piano, Scott Kiefner on acoustic bass, and John Mettam on drums, Dharma Down's debut recording Owl Dreams fascinates the listener's imagination and arouses positive sensations.


 From the Klezmatic character of Hardy's vibrant raptures on the saxophone sprinting across "Bubu Jinn" to the tingling ripples of his performance on the Qanun, forming a swiveling motion through "Jalla Man," the experience is a veritable treat into lively dreamscapes.  The original scores are animated portraits of middle eastern music paired with modern jazz parlance.

Kiefner's bass bolts "Baghdad" with a stream of heavy notes elevated by Hardy's saxophone swirls and the jaunty chirps of Effenberger's keys as a throng of weighted drumbeats played by Mettam permeate a sepulchre-like atmosphere. The recording brightens with a smooth jazz appeal along "Ex One Blues," as Hardy's saxophone soars and Effenberger's keys shimmy and twinkle with a luminous glow.

The squiggly lines of Hardy's saxophone create an eerie echo across "A Murder Of Cheerleaders," silhouette by the dissonant hues of Effenberger's keys and the cacophonous gyration of Kiefner's bass and Mettam's drums.  The billowing vibrations of Hardy's saxophone ambling along "Tadafuq" imbue the arrangement with an eclectic quiver as Effenberger's keys shroud the piece in a glittering aura.  The contemplative mood of "Michel" illustrates a sentimental impression, crossing into the soft rustle of "Thoughts and Prayers," harnessing a dreamy and intimate ballroom radiance in the instrumentation.

Dharma Down move seamlessly across the jazz spectrum from smooth jazz incandescence and ballroom serenity to exotic middle eastern rhythms and folkloric emanations.  The quartet embraces tradition and innovation with palpable enthusiasm, immediately discerned by their debut offering.

Musicians:
Duncan Hardy - Alto Saxophone and Qanun
Mike Effenberger - Piano
Scott Kiefner - Acoustic Bass
John Mettam - Drums

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