CORTLANDT

_Cortland_ is the only solo recording by bassist Sean Malone. According to his words this album consist "a lot of the bits and pieces that never made it to the setlists of the groups he played in". The line-up is pretty amazing: Sean Reinert on drums, Trey Gunn on Warr guitar, Reeves Gabrels on Guitar. Musically it's much more closer to jazz than Malone's other projects he's been involved in. Still there's very much variety. The opening track "Controversy" is a typical jazz piece, it's 16th note bass intro will amaze you. "Splinter" starts with some heavy distorted guitars but after couple of seconds it leads to a fusion exploration. "Fisher's Gambit" 7 years later found it's place on Gordian Knot's second recording. Here's the first version, more eternal sounding thanks Trey Gunn's warm soundscapes. Coltrane's "Giant Steps" is completely rearranged, some of sax parts are played here by Malone on his fretless. In the second part there appears an eastern sound influence. This part was later used in "Redemption's Way" on firs GK release. It's a wonderful cover that will not leave your head for months. The eastern influence also appears on other tracks. "Hand Full of Earth" starts with this kind of flavor, just to end with a wonderfully gorgeous soundscapes. _Cortland_ has some flows ( cheesy sounding keyboards), but the overall impression is very good. The music has a warm tone and is less aggressive and more spacey than Malone's work in Gordian Knot. Tracking down a copy may not be easy. However if you enjoy Sean's other works, good fusion or want to hear fantastic bass playing, be sure not to miss this one. But if you're a symphonic, neo-prog fan, check at your own risk, as it's musically far from your definition of progressive music.