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| MoonJune Records new release ZHONGYU comes with the Chinese flavor  MoonJune Records New Release ZHONGYU featuring members of MORAINE. If MoonJune Records is a label of progressive music that explores boundaries of jazz, rock, avant, ethno and the unknown, then this is the album that has all elements of it:progressive, rock, avant, ethno (Chinese), the unknown and a nice dose of electro-eclectic jazz.Zhongyu is an American band from Seattle with a Chinese name and an attitude that encompasses the full spectrum of musical sounds and sources. Composer Jon Davis teams up with three members of Moraine and an experienced jazz drummer to create a sound that blends influences from Rock in Opposition (Univers Zero and Present), progressive rock (King Crimson), jazz (electric Miles Davis and composers such as George Russell), and Asian music. Whether it involves plugging a traditional Chinese instrument into a modular synthesizer or running a bass clarinet through a wah-wah pedal, pushing boundaries (or denying their existence) is the core of the band's identity. "Zhongyu" means "finally" in Mandarin Chinese, and Jon chose it for the project's name because he "finally has a band." He has been making music since the '70's, in everything from classic-rock cover bands (before it was classic) to punk rock to electronic experiments. Living in Beijing for three years provided the inspiration for assembling a crew to realize his singular dream of a music that combined all these elements. They are a group that aims to balance the opposites of music: composition and improvisation, serenity and chaos, harmony and dissonance, complexity and simplicity, acoustic and electric. With guitarist Dennis Rea on board as co-producer and legendary engineer Steve Fisk at the controls, Zhongyu is a powerful, brilliantly executed, and strikingly original debut album that has been years in the making. Direct link to purchase the CD: http://bit.ly/23Rsa3C Direct link to purchase DOWNLOAD (FLAC/ALAC/WAV/MP3-320): https://zhongyu-moonjune.bandcamp.com JON DAVIS Chapman Stick, guzheng, Mellotron, ARP 2600 DENNIS REA Electric guitar, resonator guitar ALICIA DeJOIE Electric violin JAMES DeJOIE Baritone saxophone, flute, bass clarinet RANDY DOAK Drums, percussion with special guest: DANIEL BARRY Trumpet (Track 11) All titles composed and arranged by Jon Davis. Produced by Jon Davis and Dennis Rea for MoonJune Records. write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page |