Shane Kirsch: Press

Shane Kirsch- The Fuzzy Flow

Roll's Quick Pick 3
Though he is known to most as a top-tier saxophonist, appearing with 420 Funk Mob, George Clinton, Spearhead, Perfect Thyroid, and Soñando, as well as being a teacher at the Brunswick School (Greenwich CT), Shane Kirsch displays considerable multi-instrumentalism and ProTools chops on this genre-defying (OK, let’s try anyway) “jazztronica.” Keeping a nice balance between tech and nature, Kirsch flows from MMW-style instrumental “Espionage” and analog absurdist neo-Funkadelic (“Airborne,” “Story Time”) into a CD full of surprises and inventive rhythmic synthesis, always with stellar reedwork (and occasional vocals) throughout. Shane makes it all work….worth seeking out. www.shanekirsch.com, cdbaby.com/cd/shanekirsch

The saxman cometh. Well, sax, flute, keys, vocals, and percussion and drum programming.

If that's not enough, Shane Kirsch wrote the tunes, produced and arranged "The fuzzy flow." (Can he change your oil too?)

Can anyone say Prince?

A teacher at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., as well as a member of the area Latin band Soñando, which plays salsa and merengue, Kirsch certainly knows his way around a sax. And he has some serious studio chops and has a way with a summery song. In fact, many of these tunes recall Eric Burdon and War's "Spill the Wine" in mood and sway.

On the nine-track outing, "Espionage" kicks things off and sets the tone with a relentless snare hit, blazing acoustic solo (by Larry Urban) and a slinky sax melody line. "Airborne" brings on the funk, a slow groove ode to the dance floor. "Change," "Story Time" and "the Deep End" are more atmospheric groove pieces. And "Land of the Most" is like that as well, only hyper.

Advertisement


This CD has a layered, expansive sound that reveals different things with different listens, Kirsch has a fresh style all his own. In this day and age, that's worth its weight in gold.

Visit www.shanekirsch.com.

David Malachowski is a guitarist, producer and freelance journalist living in Woodstock. The Freeman seeks CDs by local artists or artists appearing locally for review. Please send all CDs (please no CD-Rs or demo CDs) to Daily Freeman c/o Preview, 79 Hurley Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401.




©Daily Freeman 2008