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Nikols View Drop Down
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Joined: November 05 2010
Location: Russia
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Points: 71 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Jam It! (Russia) for Jazz Rock/Fusion
    Posted: November 08 2015 at 04:34
"Jam It!", progressive/fusion band from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, was formed in 2006 by drummer Alexey Vostrikov, who also composes most of the material for the band, Dmitry Medvinsky on bass, Roman Savelyev on keys and Aleksandr Skorodumov on guitar.



Band took its inspiration from the progressive and fusion bands such as Liquid Tension Experiment, Dream Theater, Dave Weckl Band, Spaced Out, Mindflowers but also took a lot from other styles such as funk (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tower of Power), metal (Metallica, Tool), and even jazz (Avishai Cohen, Hiromi Uehara).

In 2009 final line-up of the band was formed - Konstantin Ilyin (ex Profaza) took the guitar player position. Band released its first self-titled CD in 2010 and the follow-up CD "Jammed Session" in 2012.

CDs were received positively and gained critical acclaim, especially praised for the compositions. Band performed live in Saint-Petersburg, and was well known in russian progressive rock scene.
In 2013 band started working on its third CD, which was put on hold, while the drummer studied at the Drummers Collective in NYC.

In 2015 the third CD, "Following The Unknown" was finally released. Mindflowers's leader , Balazs Szendofi was featured as a guest musician, playing the bass solo on the track "Random Name Hero". Comparing to previous CDs, the band took more jazzier approach, which can be felt in Alexey's drumming and solo interaction between the musicians, but keeping all the compositional complexity of the progressive rock, taking mixture of improvisation and strict compositions to the next level.

"Following the Unknown" (2015)


01. Following the Unknown (10:10)
02. Sea Breeze (07:16)
03. Through the Forest (06:30)
04. Mountain of Solitude (09:33)
05. Avalanche (07:24)
06. Into the Mist (05:07)
07. Random Name Hero (12:22)

It was started in 2013, and was on hold while our drummer - Alex Vostrikov, was studying in New York. And now finally, we have finished it and present you with pride.

released June 5, 2015 

Musicians: 
Alexey Vostrikov - drums 
Dmitry Medvinsky - bass 
Konstantin Ilin - guitar 
Roman Savelyev - keyboard 

Guest Musician: 
Szendőfi Balázs - bass solo 

Artwork: Yury Klementiev

***

"Jammed Session" [reamped] (2014)


01. Hollowed Zombies (06:16)
02. Some Fun (05:48)
03. Oceans of Time (07:20)
04. Astro Pi (05:03)
05. Rain (07:50)
06. Inside Out (03:51)

This release is reaped and remastered version of our second album 'Jammed Session' released in 2012

released September 7, 2014 

Musicians: 
Alexey Vostrykov - drums 
Dmitry Medvinsky - bass 
Roman Saveliev - keyboards 
Konstantin Ilyin - gutars

***

"Jam It!" (2010)


01. Introduction (01:43)
02. Three Laws of Robotics (05:31)
03. Space Agency (07:16)
04. Traffic Intro (01:06)
05. Heavy Traffic (05:19)
06. Moon Blues (03:53)
07. Catch'a (05:29)

released February 1, 2010






Edited by Nikols - November 09 2015 at 09:56
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 10 2015 at 15:14
Vostrikov solo that you suggested is not that much rock based, but I'm sending Jam It! to the team.
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Nikols View Drop Down
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Points: 71 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2015 at 09:13
Originally posted by historian9 historian9 wrote:

Vostrikov solo that you suggested is not that much rock based, but I'm sending Jam It! to the team.

Thank you! I had my doubts about a suitable section for the album Alexei Vostrikov. You decide. I rely on you. But for a group Jam It! "Jazz Rock/Fusion" section, it seems to me most suitable. Although some tracks felt a clear prog metal accent. 


Edited by Nikols - November 11 2015 at 14:09
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Points: 71 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 21 2015 at 04:39
Review of the album "Following the Unknown" posted on the website Proggnosis:

Quote Following The Unknown is an incredibly good Heavy Fusion album by Russian band Jam It!. They have been compared to groups like Planet X and Liquid Tension Experiment and certainly, because of the musicianship and quality of the compositions, the references to those excellent bands is well deserved. Personnally, because of their nice mixture of heavy parts with melodic segments, I feel that their are closer to the great Canadian Fusion band Spaced Out, but I would go as far as saying that I also detect some Yes influences (circa Relayer) in their music.


Following The Unknown is without a doubt one of the best Heavy Fusion album I have heard in years. The band's sound is driven in good part by the excellent lead guitars of  Konstantin Ilin, who offers us a very large palette of guitar styles and sounds. He is certainly not alone in the band. Keyboardist Roman Savelyelv backs him up with beautiful soundscapes and occasionnally with some great soloing. The rythm section is also of top level. The dynamic bass playing of Dmitry Medvinsky and the the very creative and powerfull drumming of Alexey Vostrikov are major ingredients to the total mix.

Adding to what I have just written, I must say that one of the main strenghts of Jam It! is their more than excellent compositional skills. There is not one dull moment on Following The Unknown. Finally, the clearness of the production gives this album a killer sound that really deserves multiple listens.

Prog Fusion fans should certainly not miss out on this great album. You should also do like me, and check out their back catalogue on Bandcamp.

My highest recommendation indeed!!!!


review by: Marc





Edited by Nikols - November 21 2015 at 04:41
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Points: 71 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2015 at 12:10
Reviews, published on the resource JazzMusicArchives:
Quote No doubt, bandcamp can be a great resource for checking out new bands, but it can be a curse for some bands posted on there because there are critics that assume bandcamp is for bands that are rookies and non-professionals, but such is not always the case. A good example of some of the high quality bands you can find on the site is Jam It!, an instrumental rock band from Russia that features virtuoso instrumentalists playing highly developed compositions with a powerful studio sound. There is nothing amateur about these guys, and if you dig current rock that draws on classic 70s progressive rock, as well as modern prog-metal, then you have come to the right place. This is rock with just enough fusion mixed in to appeal to fans of the rockier side of the jazz to rock equation.

Jam It! lists Dream Theatre, and their fusion offshoots such as Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X, as influences, but to be fair to Jam It!, their music is a lot more lively and imaginative than those aforementioned technocrats. Some other influences you might hear include the various incarnations of King Crimson, early Yes, mid-70s Genesis and modern metal fusion in general. Although keyboardist Roman Savelyev takes a few solos, and provide massive orchestrations throughout, the star of the show is guitarist Konstatin Llin, who displays the required speed metal riffs, but also plays some nice soulful licks more in line with the classic guitaristics of Jeff Beck or Oz Noy.

Musically, Jam It! often features the sort of rapid harmonic and rhythmic changes that we normally associate with prog rock, but these guys don’t give into meaningless flash, and often show a much more soulful blues/RnB side that gives the music more depth and room to breathe. You can bet that there are other bands out there trying to mine similar material, but the big plus here is that the guys in Jam It! know how to play, how to arrange, and how to use the studio to get a fat sound. “Following the Unknown” is a great album for fans of modern instrumental prog rock, prog metal, and the heavier side of modern fusion.

review by: js

Quote Three decades ago one great Russian rock musician sung "It's time for retirement, I'm tired to be an rock'n'roll ambassador in non-rhythmic country...". It was pretty much a pose though - in a country under strict Communists control rock music has been banned,but at the same time it was absolutely dominating religion of younger generation, far ahead of Orthodox Christianity or Communism dogmas. 

Things changed a bit during these decades - rock isn't under the ban in today's Russia(at least till it doesn't criticize ruling regime too openly) and it's hardly a new religion anymore.But the country is same "non-rhythmic" - centuries of cultural history with absolute domination of melodic/emotive content against any rhythmic elements in folklore are too influential legacy to accept fast changes even in modern time.Then it's not strange at all that instrumental rock bands aren't national heroes there, even more - it's a small miracle that time to time Russia gives to the world classy instrumental rock music.

Few years ago it was Alko Trio - excellent heavy fusion collective, that silently faded away without any notable recognition. Jam It! are a new generation quartet,based in most European of Russian cities - St.Petersburg.

Guys mention Dream Theater and related projects as their main inspiration,and one can hear it - as well as many other influences in quartet's music. Complex, well played and technically no-nonsense,it contains 80s heavy progressive metal tradition, but (for good) doesn't misuse aggressiveness and heaviness as main components, oppositely - it sounds surprisingly light (but far not lightweight)and bright. 

Tunes (probably coming more from classical legacy than from rock) and jazz fusion influences are obvious, and as a result whole album represents perfect balance between complexity and accessibility, rock energy and jazzy improvisational creativity,melodic and rhythmic. 

Being a step ahead from classic Dream Theater early works in sense of modernity, quartet is obviously influenced by 80s King Crimson angular rhythmic constructions and their renown "loud/silent" repetitive shifts. 

But most of all their music attracts by its immediacy and even freshness - in this field Jam It! are way ahead from many still active "big names" and their influences,who often sound tired to death with playing what they are playing again and again. 

And at the end - excellent cover art, distancing musical content from classical progressive metal tradition towards more modern aesthetics, perfectly fits to their music.Bravo!

review by: snobb
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TeleStrat View Drop Down
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Joined: December 27 2014
Location: Norwalk, CA
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Points: 9319 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2015 at 12:31
Following The Unknown is an excellent album that I recently discovered on Bandcamp.
In fact, I featured it yesterday on the What are you listening to now  thread.
It is the only download I have ever purchased on Bandcamp because I only buy CDs or vinyl.
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