Ed Roth is a talented keyboard player with two albums to his credit; his self-titled debut and his latest offering Mad Beatnik. Upbeat jazz fusion is the name of the game here with superb musicianship, great melodies and feel good arrangements. The soloing is always tasteful and perfectly placed, nothing overly flashy that hogs the spotlight. The one problem some may have is the overall smoothness of the band's sound. For me, I like it as this is about as easy on the ears as jazz fusion gets. Songs like the title track and "Continental Prince" are prime examples of the band's perky melodies, excellent Hammond B3 interplay and lovely saxophone solos. The floating electric piano and funky keyboard overtones in the up-tempo jazz classic "Vehicle" are more album highlights. There is no denying the '60s and '70s feel to some of these tunes.
In the liner notes it is emphasized there was no programming and sequencing used so the entire process was quite organic and the album does sound clean and earthy to these ears. If keyboard centered melodic jazz fusion is of interest to you, Mad Beatnik should be a solid bet.
Track Listing:
1. Mad Beatnik (4:28)
2. Continental Prince (4:26)
3. Vehicle (4:36)
4. Old Cool (4:38)
5. Lumpy Gravy (4:13)
6. Rumpus Room (4:34)
7. Riff Raff (4:41)
8. Destination Constellation (5:02)
9. Bounce (4:37)
10. A Fine Cloud Party (5:05)
11. Hope And Despair (4:44)
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Ed Roth is a talented keyboard player with two albums to his credit; his self-titled debut and his latest offering Mad Beatnik. Upbeat jazz fusion is the name of the game here with superb musicianship, great melodies and feel good arrangements. The soloing is always tasteful and perfectly placed, nothing overly flashy that hogs the spotlight. The one problem some may have is the overall smoothness of the band's sound. For me, I like it as this is about as easy on the ears as jazz fusion gets. Songs like the title track and "Continental Prince" are prime examples of the band's perky melodies, excellent Hammond B3 interplay and lovely saxophone solos. The floating electric piano and funky keyboard overtones in the up-tempo jazz classic "Vehicle" are more album highlights. There is no denying the '60s and '70s feel to some of these tunes.
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