Original Instrumental

MandoMorphosis – 2010

Independent release 2010, www.mandomorphosis.com

Inspiration, collective genius, spontaneity and perhaps a touch of bewitching magic have created a dynamic musical project that lives and breathes, stands firmly on two legs and occasionally struts across the room. I’m referring to MandoMorphosis – 2010 which was officially release at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2009 and stepped into the New Year

ready for action. This is the kind of recording that seems to vaporize and enter the room through the crack of an opened door then fills the space before you while continuing to build with layer upon layer of audible color and complexity. The orchestral epic narrative is difficult to classify as one song flows organically into the next. Classical/improv/jazz, one might say, or perhaps World fusion/roots/grass when trying to fit MandoMorphosis into a known genre but in the end, all of these terms combined don’t quite tell the whole story. Take the flow from songs like Impromptu Redux to Santa Morena to Crime Dog for example; not only does each song tell its own story which seems to lead clearly to the next chapter but the very genius of using that natural order is a technique not usually used outside of symphonic composition or live performance. Born of the visceral ideals of multidimensional art through the use of the humble (and oft ignored) mandolin, MandoMorphosis is a musical journal filled with drama and romantic love, heartbreak, tragedy and redemption. This is the delightful result when you stop thinking about it and just do it. Zone 429 to Hamhock’s Razor creates a wondrous open space of natural disarray and near catastrophe that seems to tumble apart then snap together like one of those jointed wooden toys with the movable plate at the bottom (well, some of you might remember those). The collective mastery of all of the artists with their ability to bend sound and stretch the range of the instruments is occasionally, and tastefully I might add, brushed with a touch of carefully applied studio engineering in a way that never distracts from the acoustic experience. Again, that beautiful natural transition from Pete’s Wish to Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 is so perfectly executed with such grace and emotion that any seam is almost completely undetectable. The composition MandoMorphosis is a delight of experimentation and unresolved question that literally jumps Out of the Furnace and Into the Fire and then on to Nero’s Fiddle. Trying to resist the flow is impossible. Then to top it all off, just when you thought this group of friends and fellow musicians had covered all imaginable musical styles, they finish the job with a bonus track called Cascadia Raga. How could so much be packed into one simply designed CD cover? Featured on MandoMorphosis 2010 are Matt Sircely (Hot Club Sandwich), Orville Johnson (Kings of Mongrel Folk), Michael Connolly (Empty Sea Studio), David Tiller (Taarka), Scott Schaffer (producer and inspirational guru), Pete Frostic (Old School Freight Train), Adam Larrabee (Zoffer/Larrabee Duo) – all artists with additional musical credits too numerous to mention. You owe this one to yourself.  [Nancy Vivolo]