MANTRA
electric jazz ensemble
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Press:
Review of "IntotheOut"
By: Frank Rubolino
Cadence Magazine May 2003
An acidic quality runs through the performance of Mantra. The band make-up includes Ozment at the keyboards and synthesizer, Underwood on guitar plus looping electronics, and Merella as the percussionist. The music is about driving rhythms in the vein popularized by Miles in his later periods. It has an infectious, pulsating group attitude to go along with its ambitious group improvising. Underwood sets his guitar on fire with electrified phrasing around the droning, searching organ output from Ozment. Behind it all is Merella, meting out a pounding beat that coats the atmosphere with throbbing tension. The sound switches to acoustic piano, but this only sets the stage for more romping in the fantasyland of electronic stimulation.
Energy abounds on this session. Using material by Shorter, Zawinul, and Davis as a springboard into its own compositions, Mantra explores an underworld of swirling intertwined dynamics based on a recurrent rhythmic charge. The group name is very descriptive of its incantations to an unseen being. While the music is designed to flow unerringly over the senses, it dissects into individual galvanizing solos that flow into the common aura created by the combination. Ozment negotiates the organ into the outer regions while Underwood seeks out unknown elements scattered in the cosmos and Merella surrounds the galaxy with an overabundance of pulsation. Whether it is the familiar melody of "Mysterious Traveler" or the product of its own imaginative probing, Mantra is consistent in keeping the asteroids orbiting. It is trance music for space travelers.
Review of "IntotheOut"
By: Mike Joyce
Washington Post Weekend, 5/14/2004
Mantra's music isn't for those who view fusion as one of the least pleasant and noteworthy chapters in jazz history. Inspired by the electric, genre-blurring sounds championed by Miles Davis, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime and their numerous disciples from the late '60s through the early '80s, "IntotheOut" is a free-wheeling power trio excursion into the plugged-in past.
Three of the eight cuts on the CD pay homage to fusion pioneers. Davis is saluted with an imaginative reprise of his "Fast Track," awash in percolating funk despite the absence of a bass guitar. Wayne Shorter's "Mysterious Traveler" suggests a lean, Hendrix-tinted take on Weather Report, with guitarist Chuck Underwood leading the way. Joe Zawinul's "Doctor Honoris Causa" is similarly appealing, atmospheric and driven by turns. All the tunes, including five original compositions, allow Underwood, keyboardist Jon Ozment and drummer Mark Merella to stretch out in this amplified and loosely structured setting. The moods range from organ trio grooves to outre soundscapes that apparently coalesced on the spot, and there's enough middle ground to keep things from becoming too derivative.
Still, the tracks that invite repeat spins tend to have a blues bias or an insistent pulse going for them, which is why the CD's meandering 13-minute coda, "Triptych," seems too long by half.
Review of "IntotheOut"
By: Todd S. Jenkins
AllAboutJazz.com
As might be gathered from the setlist, Mantra draws rich inspiration from the early fusion movement of the 1970s. Not your average hippy-trippy apes, the trio remain perhaps closer to the true spirit of the Miles Revolution than projects like Leo Smith's Yo Miles! For all the sampling and wanna-be funk that has clogged the market lately, Mantra helps remind us of what the electric insurrection was all about.
Jimmy Smith proved decades ago that a band doesn't need a bass player as long as the organist has competent feet. Yet in Miles Davis' early electric groups, the bassist played the all-important role of unflagging anchor. (Ever count how many times Michael Henderson ran through the same dang ostinato on a quarter-hour jam') The bass isn't even missed here; Jon Ozment is fully up to snuff, blasting through pedal-less, neo-retro organ grooves that would do Larry Young proud while Mark Merella's percussion fills in some low-end space. Ozment's acid-drenched electric piano melts into Chuck Underwood's guitar wah on the Davis-penned opener, 'Fast Track,' and Merella's layers firm up the foundation. Joe Zawinul is a key influence, and the keyboardist's own 'Dr. Honoris Causa' gets a fuzzy, funky workout. The third classic, Wayne Shorter's 'Mysterious Traveler,' is of necessity pared down from the larger-than-life Weather Report sound, but Underwood makes a servicable substitute for the vehement saxman.
The remaining selections are originals by the band members. Ozment's 'Pixels' begins as a breakneck outlet for his acoustic piano (presumably played on the synth since no real piano is credited), more in the spirit of Shorter's pre-electric compositions for Davis' quintet. Later on he moves to the organ to kick up the heat. 'Blue' is a brooding, edge-of-seat wash of tension. The other tracks are free-form jams, faithful to the once-maligned, now-embraced Davis canon. 'Zone Nomo' is the furthest out, with Underwood recalling some of Henry Kaiser's experiments. Merella makes excellent use of space at times, leaving wide gaps for the others to fill in with glowing textures. A most enjoyable experience for Ur-fusion aficionados and chops-hounds.
Review of "IntotheOut"
By: Frank Rubolino
Cadence Magazine May 2003
An acidic quality runs through the performance of Mantra. The band make-up includes Ozment at the keyboards and synthesizer, Underwood on guitar plus looping electronics, and Merella as the percussionist. The music is about driving rhythms in the vein popularized by Miles in his later periods. It has an infectious, pulsating group attitude to go along with its ambitious group improvising. Underwood sets his guitar on fire with electrified phrasing around the droning, searching organ output from Ozment. Behind it all is Merella, meting out a pounding beat that coats the atmosphere with throbbing tension. The sound switches to acoustic piano, but this only sets the stage for more romping in the fantasyland of electronic stimulation.
Energy abounds on this session. Using material by Shorter, Zawinul, and Davis as a springboard into its own compositions, Mantra explores an underworld of swirling intertwined dynamics based on a recurrent rhythmic charge. The group name is very descriptive of its incantations to an unseen being. While the music is designed to flow unerringly over the senses, it dissects into individual galvanizing solos that flow into the common aura created by the combination. Ozment negotiates the organ into the outer regions while Underwood seeks out unknown elements scattered in the cosmos and Merella surrounds the galaxy with an overabundance of pulsation. Whether it is the familiar melody of "Mysterious Traveler" or the product of its own imaginative probing, Mantra is consistent in keeping the asteroids orbiting. It is trance music for space travelers.
By: Mike Joyce
Washington Post Weekend, 5/14/2004
Mantra's music isn't for those who view fusion as one of the least pleasant and noteworthy chapters in jazz history. Inspired by the electric, genre-blurring sounds championed by Miles Davis, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime and their numerous disciples from the late '60s through the early '80s, "IntotheOut" is a free-wheeling power trio excursion into the plugged-in past.
Three of the eight cuts on the CD pay homage to fusion pioneers. Davis is saluted with an imaginative reprise of his "Fast Track," awash in percolating funk despite the absence of a bass guitar. Wayne Shorter's "Mysterious Traveler" suggests a lean, Hendrix-tinted take on Weather Report, with guitarist Chuck Underwood leading the way. Joe Zawinul's "Doctor Honoris Causa" is similarly appealing, atmospheric and driven by turns. All the tunes, including five original compositions, allow Underwood, keyboardist Jon Ozment and drummer Mark Merella to stretch out in this amplified and loosely structured setting. The moods range from organ trio grooves to outre soundscapes that apparently coalesced on the spot, and there's enough middle ground to keep things from becoming too derivative.
Still, the tracks that invite repeat spins tend to have a blues bias or an insistent pulse going for them, which is why the CD's meandering 13-minute coda, "Triptych," seems too long by half.
By: Todd S. Jenkins
AllAboutJazz.com
As might be gathered from the setlist, Mantra draws rich inspiration from the early fusion movement of the 1970s. Not your average hippy-trippy apes, the trio remain perhaps closer to the true spirit of the Miles Revolution than projects like Leo Smith's Yo Miles! For all the sampling and wanna-be funk that has clogged the market lately, Mantra helps remind us of what the electric insurrection was all about.
Jimmy Smith proved decades ago that a band doesn't need a bass player as long as the organist has competent feet. Yet in Miles Davis' early electric groups, the bassist played the all-important role of unflagging anchor. (Ever count how many times Michael Henderson ran through the same dang ostinato on a quarter-hour jam') The bass isn't even missed here; Jon Ozment is fully up to snuff, blasting through pedal-less, neo-retro organ grooves that would do Larry Young proud while Mark Merella's percussion fills in some low-end space. Ozment's acid-drenched electric piano melts into Chuck Underwood's guitar wah on the Davis-penned opener, 'Fast Track,' and Merella's layers firm up the foundation. Joe Zawinul is a key influence, and the keyboardist's own 'Dr. Honoris Causa' gets a fuzzy, funky workout. The third classic, Wayne Shorter's 'Mysterious Traveler,' is of necessity pared down from the larger-than-life Weather Report sound, but Underwood makes a servicable substitute for the vehement saxman.
The remaining selections are originals by the band members. Ozment's 'Pixels' begins as a breakneck outlet for his acoustic piano (presumably played on the synth since no real piano is credited), more in the spirit of Shorter's pre-electric compositions for Davis' quintet. Later on he moves to the organ to kick up the heat. 'Blue' is a brooding, edge-of-seat wash of tension. The other tracks are free-form jams, faithful to the once-maligned, now-embraced Davis canon. 'Zone Nomo' is the furthest out, with Underwood recalling some of Henry Kaiser's experiments. Merella makes excellent use of space at times, leaving wide gaps for the others to fill in with glowing textures. A most enjoyable experience for Ur-fusion aficionados and chops-hounds.
photo by: Naima Merella | web design by: Ben Azzara ©2005