THE GATHERING

This is yet another great work where creativity, improvisation and a wide experience gather.

Mark Wingfield is an artist I've been following for the past 5 years or so, due to his link to Moonjune Records (thanks Leo for introducing me to his work), and everytime I approach one of his albums, I keep feeling surprised.

The surprise comes in a positive way, of course, because he and his colleagues always manage to use creativity with no boundaries and deliver a strong musical connection between them, so the sounds are normally attractive, despite their abstract essence. This time is 'The Gathering' the album we are talking about, a long 72-minute record divided in 10 tracks, where Wingfield gathered some monsters from the jazz, rock prog and experimental scene to delight our senses with high quality music.

Of course, it is Wingfield who takes the baton and leads the ship, we can notice it since the very first note of 'The Cockscrew Tower', but it is amazing to witness the experience and creativity of such delicious musicians like Gary Husband (piano, synths), Asaf Sirkis (drums), Tony Levin (bass) and Percy Jones (bass), all together have created a sensorial combo which takes us from one place to another, using a rich palette of colors and sounds.

Each track has a diversity of emotions and it is important to mention the role of soundscapes, because they are guilty of modifying the tracks' mood with their colorful background, and that's also part of Wingfield's sensational creativity. Of course, we will be delighted by each of the musician's personal skills during the tracks, for instance the great fretless work Jones does on 'Stormlight', the delicious drums Sirkis provide on 'Apparition in The Vaults', which also has a sort of Crimson-esque essence, including those great Levin's bass notes. There is a constant feeling of tension in different passages of the tracks, like in 'A Fleeting Glance', which also has a great fretless bass sound, by the way. But there are moments of light and brightness, like the exquisite piano work made by Husband in The Lost Room.

What this bunch of extraordinary musicians do is sharing freedom of speech and creativity, the music is never linear, it's a constant change of shapes and emotions, touching jazz and prog grounds, with the inherent experimental element that runs through the whole album. It's quite an interesting journey, and, why not, a 'Journey Home', because music is a realm where we all (musicians, producers, fans, listeners) belong.

So yeah, albums like these are always received with our arms and senses wide open, so I hope this Gathering continues to surprise us in the future. A fabulous record!

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