music review

Title: Land of the Lost
Band: greyboy
Label: Ubiquity

Greyboy is one of the few groups that manages to successfully fuse DJ and live music into acid jazz. When I think of the term acid jazz, this is the type of music that dances in my head. This incarnation of greyboyy consists of Karl Denson (tenor and soprano sax, and flute), Harold Todd (Tenor sax and flute), Elgin Park (bass), Steve Haney (percussion), Robert Walter (keys), and greyboy who throws the whole thing together in a smooth non-posturing blend.
    Land of the Lost is greyboy's long awaited second album.The album is constructed in classic Bop fashion with intro, Whirlwind, centered title track, and outro, Outerlude 2. Yet what separates greyboy from some of the other acid jazz bands out there is the perfect length of the songs.
    So many of the better acid jazz bands are truly "live" bands, and come off poorly on record Groove Collective, Incognito, and the Solsonics spring to mind. Whereas Groove Collective is as successful at creating layers of rump-swaying jazz, their songs feel more like recorded jam sessions than preconstructed songs. greyboy manages to generate a that's just as powerful and just as alive, with less instruments and a better sense of album pace. It should be noted that greyboy and/or the band the greyboy all-stars are just as good, if not better, live.
    In fact, the album is so finely crafted that the only annoying moment is a too abrupt fade out on the title track, Land of the Lost. But even this mild awkwardness dissolves as the flow resumes with Top Floor.
    For most of the album, greyboy himself remains in the back ground mixing and orchestrating the project. For the most part, the album is pure, dare I say luscious, groove heavy jazz. It isn't until the last song, Outerlude 2, that greyboy himself takes the stage and you're aware that a DJ has been orchestrating your experience. Outerlude 2 is a shining point on the album and serves as fitting closure, placing the entirety of the album within a coherent framework. As Outerlude ends, one is left with the realization that the album was crafted with a powerful unified vision.
    So, open a bottle of red wine, light your spliff, and sit back and enjoy the sonic scenery in the Land of the Lost.