MANNA / MIRAGE

According to Dave's Bandcamp site this is the last album we will hear from Manna/Mirage, which is a real shame as this is possibly the most enjoyable to date. Dave Newhouse of course provides most of the instruments, and on a couple of tracks all of them, but he has also brought in old friends such as ex-Muffins bandmates Michael Bass and Michael Zentner, his Moon Men and Cloud Over Jupiter colleague Jerry King, along with the likes of Guy Seger from Univers Zero. Dave has been at the forefront of the Canterbury/Jazz/Avant Prog scene for more than 50 years now, and I have yet to come across any of his releases which are less than thoroughly enjoyable and that is again what we have here. Dave does not feel he is restricted by what anyone expect of him, and consequently he goes where the music takes him, so if he wants the guys to "play it like they're in a small band in a seedy club in Berlin in 1933", as he requested for those involved with "Practicing Tonglin In A Time Of War" then that is what happens.

He is also never restricted in what instruments he uses, so arrangements can be very different indeed from one song to the next, and his high presence in the scene means he has access to more music and musicians than the normal person. One song on this album, "Section W", started off life as a piece on the compilation album ' Frets of Yore' which I reviewed recently, here extended and given new life. Another song was originally written for Moon Men and has now been released here.

There is a life and presence in all he is involved with, and even though he is not as young as he used to be, Dave is hugely active in multiple different musical projects as well as continuing with his artwork. This means that although this may be the end of Manna/Mirage, there is still plenty of music left to come from him, and long may that continue. For fans of the Canterbury scene this is a wonderful album which twists and changes so one never knows what is coming yet, all wrapped in the wonderful arrangements and musical sensibilities of Newhouse.

MANNA/MIRAGE is the project of former MUFFINS member Dave Newhouse, a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Naming the project after THE MUFFINS debut album this is studio album number five and I have the debut and this one only. I do prefer this one over the more jazzy debut but both are very good records. I really like the packaging including the album cover. But Dave goes to great lengths to list who is playing on each track and also a little blurb from himself talking about each track. Nine tracks worth over 46 plus minutes of classy music.

There are only two musicians that I recognized including Guy Segers from UNIVERS ZERO playing bass on two tracks and Michael Zentner adding violin on the opener. This was mixed and mastered by Mike Potter over at the famous Orion Studios in Baltimore, MD. The opener "Phantosmia" features both Zentner and Segers and I have to say the start of this track and album surprised me at the depth and power. Not that it's that strong but for this project it is. This is a top three track for me and you have to check out Zentner after 1 1/2 minutes where he gets a little avant. It turns surprisingly dark and experimental after 4 minutes with those piano lines and atmosphere.

The kalimba from Newhouse sounds pretty cool on "Rounded By Sleep" especially late. Bass and trombone standout as well. "Practising Tonglin In A Time Of War" is my least favourite with the accordion and rhythm sounding like a European Folk tune. "Section W" is a top three for me and the flute, piano and intricate sounds are appealing and there's even some static from a shortwave radio. It's interesting reading Dave's words about the song "Close The Sky" because it was a new way for him to compose and he's quite detailed about it. Segers plays bass here we get busy drums along with marimba and harmonica. It does get experimental along with some dissonance.

So much going on in "Instant Cloud Effect" with the flute, bass clarinet, keys and percussion all played by Dave. "Love Song For A Country" was originally to have vocals, Dave even had Nick Prol lined up to sing on it but changed his mind because he didn't like his own lyrics(haha). "Hope" the closer is my final top three and a ballad I would say although all instrumental. It reminds me of some of the stuff that trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf plays. Dave is playing a baritone sax here though and he says that instrument can be so delicate and emotionally charged.

A solid 4 star recording. Mature, classy and quite jazzy.

Dave Newhouse and his ever-growing, ever-impressive collective of collaborators is back with yet another installment of the Manna / Mirage offshoot of the old Avant-Canterbury band, The Muffins. Sadly, Dave serves notice with this album that this is "the last" of the Manna / Mirage project releases.

1. "Phantosmia" (6:30) very interesting for its unusual (for Dave) rhythm track. Saxophone and Michael Zentner's Eddie Jobson-like violin lead us through the first three minutes but then the horn section takes over in the foreground while individual instruments try to vie for attention from behind the wall of winds. In the fifth minute the band falls into the Rock Creek as Jannick Top-like single-pluck bass notes reverberate in order to keep the song moving above multiple reverse guitar tracks. Interesting. (8.75/10)

2. "Rounded by Sleep" (8:36) great steady mini-big band foundation that reminds me of Herbie Hancock's 1970s music in the late 1960s and early 1970s sits beneath some really awesome fuzz-saw guitar playing from Mark Stanley. At 4:00 Mark's play and the drums and bass cut out and we're left with a Phillip Glass-like tuned percussion weave within which trombone, woodwinds, and piano play a little bit. Then, at 6:20, a new kalimba, bass, and electric piano weave fades in and takes over. Lots of tuned percussion joins in and VERY cool three-part song! (18.75/20)

3. "Practicing Tonglin in a Time of War" (4:13) accordion and piano start up this European street song before drums, percussion, and bass join in. Second (or third?) accordion track doubles a violin to carry the melody for the first two minutes before a shift into a more Gypsy-klezmer-like weave incorporating horns and winds occurs. Now the violin and accordion are carrying one melody while the horns and winds carry a completely different one. At times it feels as if five or six separate melody lines are all woven together! (9/10)

4. "Section W" (4:56) a weave of stringed instruments: bass, guitar, percussed electric guitar, even banjo (dobro?) are all cycling within a steady repeating flow. Once established, radio tuning noises are strung into the mix giving it a Holger Czukay sound and feel. But then low flute (shakuhachi?) enters--on multiple tracks--providing a whole different feel and texture. (9/10)

5. "There Was a Time" (2:21) one of those classic beautiful piano-based chord progression songs that only Dave seems to be able to generate. Organ tracks, drums, keyboard bass, and some reeds provide most of the instrumentation for this little "soundtrack" ditty. (4.5/5)

6. "Close the Sky (5:52) a song of several parts, Guy Segers' heavily-treated bass and Mark Stanley's heavily-treated muted guitar play provide most of the foundational stuff for the first two minutes while reeds and harmonica provide entertainment on the sides, but then marimba takes the place of Mark's guitar for a minute, but then he returns for another solo--still playing off of Guy's interesting jazz bass. Then formally horn section step in to take the fore, providing their own tight melody as drummer Sean Rickman freestyles. (9/10)

7. "Instant Cloud Effect (3:18) opens with a descending chord progression of Fender Rhodes electric piano, bass, flutes, and clarinet, a pattern that is repeated with interludes of a second motif for the flutes and clarinet to do some flitting and flying off on their own. Nice. Peaceful. (8.875/10)

8. "Love Song for a Country" (5:30) slow and melancholy, this one feels as if the entire band are all on the same page--in the same mood--thus the song's overall feeling of uniformity--of the band's entrainment and indivisibility. It would've been interesting to hear this with Nick Prol's vocals. Nice avant garde guitar soloing from Mark Stanley in the last 90 seconds. Dave sure has a genius for great, nostalgic chord piano progressions. (9/10)

9. "Hope" (5:00) like Dave's swan song. I feel as if I'm listening to Dexter Gordon's playing from the film 'Round Midnight. (8.875/10)

Total Time 46:16

I swear, Dave's productions, compositions, and ideas just keep getting better and better with each successive album release. Beginning with 2015's wonderful surprise, Blue Dogs, through Rest of the Time, Face, and 2021's Man Out of Time (my favorite), the music has continued to evolve as it expresses and fulfills many of Dave's old ideas with new inspirations and inputs.

I really love how Dave puts detailed descriptions of the songwriting, studio recording, and evolution of each song into his album's "liner notes." It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the artist and his process.

I'd like to add how much I enjoyed Sean Rickman's drumming; his is by far my favorite drumming on a Manna/Mirage album.

A-/five stars; another minor masterpiece of progressive jazz-rock fusion from one of the longest-running, hardest working masters of the Canterbury Scene, Dave "The Muffin Man" Newhouse. Highly recommended. With this album and his previous release, 2021's Man Out of Time, you have two delightful masterpieces of the sub-genre.

The year 2023 is proving to be a great year for the comeback of England's Canterbury Scene with February finding the long awaited sophomore album from Zopp blowing away a Canterbury crazed prog scene and released on the very same day is the USA's own Muffins spin-off group MANNA / MIRAGE which finds its fifth album AUTOBIOGRAPHIE crashing the wacky party of avant-jazz-prog run amok. This project of David Newhouse which began as a side project from Maryland's The Muffins has turned out to be an equally fascinating group in its own right that has developed its own identity without jettisoning its Canterbury connections.

While Newhouse (who has also been involved with Skeleton Crew with Fred Frith and another side project Diratz) is the main man here who handles keys, reeds, guitars, kalimba, accordion, harmonica and who bunch else! Joining him is ten guest musicians covering the basics like bass, drums and guitar to more exotic sounds including the violin, trombone, mallets and bells. The Bandcamp page claims that this if the fifth and final album from MANNA / MIRAGE so this very well could be the end of the road for this band that has so effortlessly melded the warmth of the Canterbury jazz rock scene with the more angular excesses of avant-prog.

AUTOBIOGRPAHIE features nine all-instrumental tracks at just over 46 minutes of playing time. The music is roughly a third Canterbury jazz, a third avant-prog and a third various ethnic folk music styles all mashed up into a cool stroll into the world of instrumental prog. The album also finds a cameo of two early members of The Muffins, Michael Bass on drums and Michael Zentner on electric violin. This album is well paced with each track sounding distinct whether it's the Canterbury dominated opening "Phantosmia" or the tango-fueled "Practicing Tonglin In A Time Of War." The wealth of instrumentation provides an endless supply of tones and timbres adorning each musical motif like a wildflower bloom after the spring rains.

Not much to say about this really. This is mostly on the slower to mid-tempo range and doesn't get as wild and adrenaline fueled as classic Muffins albums. This is more like easy listening avant-prog with the warmth of Canterbury tones and keyboard workouts. The instrumental interplay on this is excellent with all kinds of instruments sharing space with the consistency of the keys, guitar, bass and drums. Supposedly Newhouse is just retiring the name MANNA / MIRAGE but continuing music in this style. Considering he's involved in so many other projects perhaps he's just overextended himself or simply doesn't want to exhaust the MANNA / MIRAGE playbook. Whatever the case AUTOBIOGRAPHIE isn't a bad way to end it all. A beautifully consistent album that may not scream out masterpiece of the ages but offers an excellent roster of diverse tracks.

When it comes to Canterbury-style music there are few who can compare to Dave Newhouse, who first with The Muffins and now with Manna/Mirage somehow manages to keep producing wonderful songs over a career which is now 50 years in the making. This album is somewhat more diverse, with quite a few different musicians (I note his Moon Men compadr' Jerry King is on a few), so I wonder if it was taken from different sessions or if it is a clean-up, but whatever it is, we have yet another wonderful album which contains plenty of jazz mixed in with the Canterbury sounds. Dave is wearing multiple hats on this one, with keyboards as well as multiple woodwind and brass instruments, and even adds some vocals and drums as well.

This is less of a band album and more of a Newhouse release, as he is very much at the centre of everything, adding in different musicians as the need arises, and the result is something which is compelling, diverse, fascinating, and full of focus. I have been listening to quite a lot of Dave's material in recent years, in different bands, and as well as being a consummate musician, he also has a wonderful compositional style which makes for albums which are always intriguing. On the last Manna/Mirage album, 202's 'Face', I said I was pleased that 'Fly Away' was at the end of the album as it was so very different to the rest, and yet again here we have another piano-led piece which is wonderful yet removed with the delicate 'These Days'. Newhouse produces albums which are timeless, yet current, wrapped in space, delivered with care, and this is yet another wonderful example of his work. Essential for any fans of the genre.

To whom it may concern. Who's the 'Man Out Of Time' here? It's meant like nothing more than ahead of time, no doubt. Initiated by Dave Newhouse (The Muffins) this marks an album consisting of a recipe with well-elaborated Canterbury and Avant Jazz bordering songs. Where some of them have been unfinished samples deriving from diverse prior music projects. One reason why so much guest musicans are involved, I'd say. Having a total length of 36 minutes a rather short one, though tension filled anyhow. Experimental, partially weird, but also accessible, melodic in the same way. Something for everyone, so to say. Thus for example What's The Big Idea partially sounds if a Jazz Big Band is underway.

The following melancholic World Song on the other hand is a leftover from recordings for another great album. Produced under the moniker DIRATZ, also in collaboration with Newhouse. Where Carla's figure as well as her voice somehow reminds me of Renate Knaup (Amon Düül 2). In For A Penny then is showing a canterburyesque flow including wonderful electric piano akin to Soft Machine. The utterly complex and multi-varianted 4 Steps Back marks the album highlight, includes a guitar solo that is delivered by Mark Stanley, a tad Gary Boyle and Alan Holdsworth reminiscent. Fantastic! Fred's Dream is dedicated to guitarist Fred Frith. The main theme was experienced during a concert, and then modeled by Newhouse later. Even Frith himself has provided the solo finally. Superb album, definitely recommended, I'm delighted to see and hear so much prolific musicians involved.

A collection of Dave Newhouse songs that contain some of his most complex, well-developed ideas since he went solo. I love that there is so much going on within each song that I pick out entirely new and different things with each listening.

1. "What's the Big Idea?" (4:19) all musicians here seem to be traveling their own solo paths while somehow, amazingly, creating a wonderfully mature weave. (9.5/10)

2. "World Song" (3:49) great drumming beneath Carla Diratz' bluesy singing and the rest of the band's baseline weave. (8.5/10)

3. "In for a Penny" (4:34) great Canterbury slow groove (Fender Rhodes, horns, and bass) over which xylophone, flute, vocalise, and drums create some wonderfully melodic trails. (9/10)

4. "Red Ball Express" (2:56) one of Dave's more free-form, boundary-pushing, almost laughable, hot air balloon ride compositions that remains somehow tethered to the ground by the mellifluous winds. (4.25/5)

5. "4 Steps Back" (10:45) a very well conceived and realized Canterbury style jazz song with nice contributions from strings and Mark Stanley's electric guitar--and a most excellent contribution from drummer Sean Rickman. I love the Muffins-like eight and ninth minutes and then the pugillistic final two minutes. Great editing and mixing to get this one to sound so perfect. (18.75/20)

6. "Fred's Dream" (3:58) opens with a sound, styling, and pacing that is quite reminiscent of STEELY DAN or some other Gary Katz production (Rosie Vela or Love and Money). GREAT melodic and harmonic structure. And so fun to have Fred Frith's wild contribution! (9.5/10)

7. "Silver Age" (4:00) opens like something from HAROLD BUDD and THE COCTEAU TWINS' The Moon and the Melodies 1986 album. Fun! (8.5/10)

8. "These Days" (2:32) beautiful, peaceful keyboard (Fender Rhodes) work over which Rich O'Meara splays his marimba work. (4.75/5)

Total Time 36:53

I am so grateful for Dave's detailed liner notes explaining the etiology of each song: they are so enjoyable to read. The Coronavirus pandemic definitely allowed Dave the time and room to fully and completely develop and rework his ideas into wonderfully complete feeling songs. A-/5 stars; a minor masterpiece of Canterbury style jazz.

Any review of Manna/Mirage is going to look back to The Muffins, the Canterbury influenced quartet founded by Dave Newhouse (keyboards, reeds), Billy Swan (bass) and Michael Zentner (guitar, violin) all the way back in 1973. Named after The Muffins' debut album, Manna/Mirage released their debut in 2015 with Dave being joined by Billy and Paul Sears from the line-up which released 2012's 'Mother Tongue'. However, for the 2018 'Rest of the World' it was now just Dave with additional musicians, many of whom have continued through to this their third album.

Dave provides keyboards, woodwinds, and saxophones on this release, and apart from the final song everything on the album is instrumental. Dave is renowned for providing Canterbury-influenced progressive rock for well over 40 years and he is showing no sign at all of changing now. He can also be found working in The Moon Men with Jerry King, who is one of the returning musicians, providing bass and other instruments. Musically this sounds like a mix of Henry Cow, Caravan, Soft Machine, Zappa and even Can, heading deep into the avant-garde to create something where there may be repeated melody, or there may not. It may contain delicate keyboards, or it may not. The woodwind may be taking the lead, or guess what? It may not. The result is a musical journey where one is never quite sure where the end is going to be, but it is always way more interesting to follow a road less travelled than the highway everyone else uses. It may take longer, but in the end, it is always more fulfilling, and life is all about the journey. This is an album which should only be played when the listener really has the time to fully immerse themselves, to focus intently on the music, preferably by playing it on headphones.

It is hard to pick a favourite, as each song is as intriguing as the next, but I am glad that "Fly Away" is at the end of the album as it is so very different indeed to what has gone before, with swirling piano and delicate vocals. In many ways it is out of place with what has gone before, which also makes it a perfect ending, as it is this lack of conformity throughout the album which makes it such a delight. This conforms most strongly with numbers which could be viewed as commercial, and therefore is a massive contrast to everything else, so therefore fits the overall rationale of the album, if that makes sense. This is something which all lovers of Canterbury-style Prog need to discover at once, if not sooner.

I was wondering if this Muffins offshoot band gonna have a follow up to their excellent debut. If Blue Dogs showed Dave Newhouse taking a big role in the album/band it is more evident here, a quick look at the album's credit will point out that this looks like more of a solo album from him. Billy Swann (Ex The Muffins) appears only on one track, Paul Sears (Ex The Muffins) which played drums on the debut is not on board this time instead we have about ten more musicians participating in the album including Bret Hart (not the wrestler...) Jerry King and William Jungwirth on which he collaborates with them on the excellent band Moon Man. I'm glad to see Newhouse does not follow the debut footsteps but continues to explore his ideas further more. While the debut was leaning more towards jazz this one is more progressive overall with an emphasis on Canterbury and avant garde, like a cross between Henry Cow's LegEnd, Caravan and Soft Machine. Dave Newhouse certainly knows how to make an album to sound so beautiful, his array of woodwinds like clarinet, tenor/alto/baritone and soprano sax, keys and piano complimented with bass and drums sounds so fresh and lively which is the canterbury music's trademark.

Catawampus, Zed He Said and That Awful Sky are three tracks designated for a Muffins album before the band dissolved. The album opens with Catawampus their progiest tune in the album, this is quite an eclectic ride as the song holds a few surprises and bears an interesting progression. Sean Rickman on drums really shines here, he's all over the place with an unexpected rock attitude giving those jazzy horns a real kick, as the contrast between jazzy horns and an angry fuzzy organ is built. Mark Stanley is doing a great job here with a cool quirky electric guitar solo and his acoustic noodling on the song's final part topped with beautiful keyboard chords, a canterbury heaven! Zed He Said is an acoustic piece said to be dedicated to Robert Wyatt. There's a quiet disturbing psychedelic touch here like an early melody by Caravan, soft keyboard sounds and acoustic guitar strumming lead the way with female vocals, it gets more upbeat later with drums. Alchemist In The Parlor is quite a weird piece, Carla Diratz from the band Diratz (which is another project of Dave Newhouse) writes the lyrics and performs heavy accented narration on this weird folk tune with minimalistic woodwinds rhythm, a violin, bells and percussion, it actually suits the vibe of the album in spite of feeling out of place at first. Except for those two tracks containing vocals the rest is instrumental. 30 Degrees Of Freedom is my favorite piece here along with the opener and Mini Hugh, piano and noisy distortions gets the ball rolling, it settles for Newhouse to have some fun with woodwinds, piano, keys guitars and a deep fat bass, this is good and it gets even better when it picks up and gets more intense with Sean Rickman's busy drumming and Stanley's guitar solo. Gonzalo's Paints is dedicated to Gonzalo Fuentes the man behind their album covers (yep haha) It's a short pastoral theme with serene atmosphere. Miracle Walking adds to the album's diversity, no drumming no bass only multiple layers of woodwinds and an accordion, very nice. Mini Hugh is dedicated to Hugh Hopper and for a good reason, it sounds like something out of Soft Machine's kitchen. The calm atmosphere wraps you up as you enter that pool but becomes much more beautiful once you dive in, Guy Seger's bass, Newhouse woodwinds and Rickman stunning drumming doesn't let you wanna leave the water, fantastic really! That Awful Sky is a unique spacious piece with a disturbing atmosphere played only with electric and acoustic basses, guitar and soft drum patterns, a beautiful ending to the album.

As much as I love the first album I think this is a little bit better, I guess it's something to do with the album being more canterbury oriented plus Rickman's drumming which kinda steals the show here. I sure do hope Mr. Newhouse comes up with another album soon because as of now it doesn't look like his out of ideas. His brilliant songwriting, arrangements and playing makes this beautiful sounding album a real winner. Easy 4 stars.

If you can't get enough of The Muffins this is a great offshoot band. Named after their debut album, Manna/Mirage consists of 3 members from The Muffins, Dave Newhouse plays keyboards, woodwinds and drums in about half the tracks here, his son George plays the other half. Billy Swann on bass and Paul Sears appears only on one track Muffin Man Redux playing the drums, the only one missing is Tom Scott. This is very close to what The Muffins were doing in their early period and of course Soft Machine also come to mind. Their fantastic blend of Canterbury, jazz and some avant guarde shines throughout this very short album, only 35 minutes of music. Although the songs are relatively short about 4-5 minutes they sound complete and don't wander off. The playing is of course superb, Dave Newhouse is the main man here, with his masterful arrangements of multiple woodwinds, piano and keys being complemented with bass and drums.

The album opens with the aptly titled Canterbury Bells, this is all Newhouse, keys and horns lead the way on this buoyant journey on top of jazzy piano chords progressions, what a beautiful sound. Duke Street is some sort of a tribute to Duke Ellington so this one goes into jazzier territories, sonds like something out of the 50's with a better production, Newhouse really nails this one with a couple layers of woodwinds. Muffin Man Redux is one of the most diverse tunes in this album, it continues the jazzy mood and welcomes Mark Stanley with his Bireli Lagrene like jazzy guitar runs, Newhouse's piano work goes hand in hand with his multiple layers of horns which sets the ground for some Ratledge fuzzed out keyboard solo. The melancholic Lost In Photograph again derives from its title is a slow contemplative piece, with woodwinds takes the center. Blind Eye probably my favorite tune here adds a few more spices to the mix and goes into Zehul realms, it sounds like something out of the first Magma album as woodwinds sets the ground to a deep pulsating bass, sinister guitar licks and a blaring anguished sax, great stuff and a bit too short maybe. Shwang Time swings like another 50's big band tune where woodwinds again takes center stage, very cool. Rovian Cue is another melancholic tune full of emotion and melodic flair, a beautiful finish to this album.

A very promising debut indeed and a great addition to any Canterbury/Jazz fan. Although a very short release but it's more than rewarding, I sure hope more people will tune in to this great work. Rounded up a bit to 4 stars.