FLOW

Flow, Flow, LMB Music, 2017, $10.99.

                                                           

Flow is the name of the CD as well as the “super group” that wrote and performed the selections. The group features musicians famous in their own right: Fiona Joy on piano, Will Ackerman on guitar, Lawrence Blatt on guitar and ukulele, and Jeff Oster on trumpet and Flugelhorn. Bit of trivia here: the group’s names came from the first letters of each member’s first or last name: Fiona, Lawrence, Oster and Will. Also included are guest artists Marc Schulman on guitar, Tony Levin and Sam Bevan on bass, Jeff Haynes on percussion, Eugene Friesen on cello and Tom Eaton on guitar and bass. Flow is billed as “The Essence of Today’s New Age Music”.

        I thought I’d do what I’ve previously done when asked to review a CD: Host a “Review Party” where several friends sit and listen to the CD and then offer comments.

        Here are a few quotes from Review Party guests:

        “Flow—the entire CD—had a contemporary feel, not something I’d call ‘New Agey’. Less than elevator music, though. It was pleasant and many selections—most notably Free Ascent—had a haunting quality that drew me in.”

        “Whisper Me This featured some lovely nature sounds, which enhanced the tranquil feel of the music. I can see myself listening to it while driving through traffic. It would help me stay calm even in a traffic jam. Very nice.”

        “I was looking for something to listen to while meditating, but I didn’t find it here. Although Flow is relaxing, it’s not suited for meditation because it’s too up-beat in many places. Maybe if you’re doing moving meditation.”

        “I was hoping for something to do my Tai Chi to, but none of the selections were appropriate for that. To me, it sounded like one long track rather than eleven separate ones, and the tempo changed in a way that I wouldn’t use it for my Tai Chi. I did enjoy it because the combination of the instruments created a synthesis of calmness with enough of an up-beat feel to lift the spirit.”

         “The third track, Flow, had a Latin feel that I really enjoyed. Of all the tracks, I like this one the best. I wanted to get up and move.”

        “Waters Gather is an appropriate title because I closed my eyes as I listened and the word that came to me was ‘rill’, which is a free-flowing brook or stream. Waters Gather was a musical description of a rill. I loved the violin on this track.”

        “There’s what we call night driving music. It’s what you listen to when yours is the only car on the road at night and you’re enjoying the solitude and peace. Free Ascent is a very good example of night driving music. It’s haunting, yet comforting. I’ll have to listen to it on the drive home tonight.”

        “I wondered about the title And the Sky Was. The sky was what? It’s probably one of those sentences you’re meant to complete yourself. For me, the sentence would be ‘And the sky was beautiful on a hot, lazy, tropical day.’ Not a get-up-and-dance Gato Barbieri day, but a sit-and-watch-the-waves-shush-on-the-sand tropical day.”

        “And the Sky Was reminded me of a 1940s film noir soundtrack. Probably because of the muted trumpet. It was languid and soulful. I felt there was something underneath the music—a story that I wanted to know the end of. Like I said, a film noir. It drew me in more than any other track on the CD.”

        The consensus was that Flow lives up to its promise. Each artist contributed to a whole that exceeded the sum of its parts. You can go to Amazon.com and sample any of the tracks. We encourage you to try them all.

-          Chris Palmer