In guitarist Bruce Arnold’s new release “Give ’Em Some” (Muse Eek 116) Rock, Funk, Jazz, and 20th Century Classical music combine to create a sound that seems familiar, yet is actually remarkably different.
The Tracks: “Blues for Arnie” is a piece dedicated to the seminal composer Arnold Schoenberg. Not strictly a blues, it nonetheless embodies the energy and emotion that the blues has brought to American music. The title track, “Give ‘Em Some” is an extremely intricate chord progression supported by a strong and funky groove. Tony Moreno’s astonishing final drum solo distills technique and passion into a crescendo of excitement. “Smoke” journeys into the bluesy wah-wah land of Jimi Hendrix, the great artist and innovator, whose influence lurks in the playing of all electric guitarists. “Time Line” is an extended rock ballad reminiscent of Jeff Beck, another guitar icon. Along with delving into the richness of 12 tone harmonies the tune also explores the time relationships of 4 against 3 and metric modulation. “Techtonic” is reminiscent of Bruce’s early work with a deep harmonic palette, contrapuntal lines and interesting 12 tone vamps. “Rush” is a pastiche of groove and a gamut of evocative electronic guitar sounds with bookends of effects processed solo work. “Funky Timeline Breakdown” uses the bass line from “Time Line” as a vehicle for soloing “I loved soloing over that one!” says Bruce.
To hear or purchase music from this CD please visit the Give ’em Some page at the record company Muse Eek Recordings.
“The best records are those that provide you with multi-level, multi-sensory pleasure. What would the world be, after all, without all those Steely Dan records where you feel the music, engage in its complexity, smile at the words and taste small doses of heaven? Of course, at any given time, you can turn off one of those reactions. You don’t have to think about wide intervals and altered chords and unusual harmonies all the time. And you shouldn’t have to. Listening to music, after all, shouldn’t be like Trigonometry.
Guitar-led jazz trios rarely excite me, but Arnold manages to be technically brilliant and emotionally explosive all at once. Unlike guitar hero albums which seem to do things the other way around. Arnold imbues this set with introspective style.
With Give ’Em Some, guitarist Bruce Arnold continues to wring surprisingly varied and melodic results from 12-tone compositional methods, following up on what he began with 2000’s A Few Dozen. The same lineup—bassist Ratzo B. Harris, drummer Tony Moreno—appears here, but Arnold pointedly goes for a more rock- and funk-oriented sound this time. He tends to set up his alluringly dissonant harmonic patterns with a clean sound, only to solo with all-out distortion, wah effects, and sui generis sounds called forth from the synth pickup on his Fender Strat. Harris plays both acoustic and electric bass with aplomb. The disc begins with the Schoenberg -dedicated “Blues for Arnie” and rocks hard through the next two cuts before relenting with the more ethereal “Techtonic” and “Timeline.” The latter segues into a funky breakdown toward the end, a groove based on a five-bar phrase that the band reprises on the final track, aptly titled “Foggy Timeline Breakdown.” Moreno steps out front on the abstract “Rush,” setting rolling tom-toms and percussion against Arnold’s harmonized, chorusy ruminations. This music demonstrates something Schoenberg and his followers couldn’t have foreseen: that serialism has applications beyond the concert hall and may even be of use to a guitar power trio.
Bruce Arnold uses his guitar to explore twelve-tone structures and he is a master of the art form. Six long and entertaining songs make up the CD collection. The jazz audience will find the jazz motifs unusual, and interesting. For a change of pace, give this gifted guitarist Bruce Arnold a listen, and discover some new guitar licks of an imaginative nature in GIVE ‘EM SOME! Nice, solid, imaginative trio work.