JASON RUBENSTEIN

JASON RUBENSTEIN: Four Points of Focus EP

I was given an advanced copy to review.

The players:

Jason Rubenstein ' Piano, synthesizers, samplers Tom Hipskind ' Drums Shawn Sommer ' Bass and Bass Synthesizer Bugra Sisman ' Electric guitar Chuck Bontrager ' 7-string violin Dani'l van den Berg ' Acoustic and electric guitars

It's a chilly, sizzling masterpiece.

And I'm not sure how Jason does this- but the stark, percussive, unison piano lines in the lower register, pounding out dramatic sequences accompanied by bass and drums- well, somehow one gets the idea there are mysteries and coils in Jason's brain.

There are no resting places.

No places to pause, doff your hat, cool your heels, or take a restful breath. Although the music is rarely harsh or overpowering, there's a steely core that makes you think you'd better stay focused.

And there's heat in that steely core. Passion. Intensity.

Jason seems like a big-brain person- one of those guys with more folds, and cells, and capacities than some of us lesser mortals. Things make sense and add up in different ways that sometimes appear to defy convention.

You could say he's a visionary and folks, it doesn't seem like a real easy, laid-back kind of world Jason inhabits.

There's something compelling in that vision.

He attracts luminous musicians who are equally drawn to that light Jason emits, and who add immeasurably to it.

I was trying to find a weak spot in the ensemble that surrounds this music and fleshes it out.

Couldn't.

At the heart of this music is pounding, percussive, demanding piano.

Not swanky lounge-lizard piano, or sweet, relaxing piano- no. Restless, gouging, growling piano.

Jason elsewhere mentioned Philip Glass, ELP, King Crimson, and Nine Inch Nails as influences.

I think though that he's clearly morphed into a defining 'voice' of his own.

There are four tracks-

Consideration: that driving, percussive piano, precision from all players, complex and shifting time signatures, cool echo guitar, flowing piano, impeccable rhythm section.

Acceleration: arpeggiated piano lines, turning into a 'crazed calypso on acid' with some slinky bass guitar work, flaring and soaring synth work, all ending on one dark piano stroke.

Unequivocation: beginning with some garbled static- voices? chaos?, then that piano at the heart. The stark unison lines with piano, bass, and the tasteful drums augmenting it all, growing more crisp and complex'then some flamenco-like acoustic guitar simmering over the top in fiery, restless tones'morphing into electric virtuosity, all with a Latin flavor.

Ending with

Conviction: flowing bass line, that amazing rhythm section that never over-plays, cool clinking organ tones as the tune builds, soaring synth work moving into an almost unbearable build-up'then'done.

Conclusion

Jason and fellow musicians have hammered out a rare musical sculpture- finely crafted, meticulous, icy-fire.

I give it five out of five chilly hot stars.

Four Points of Focus is due out June 25, 2018.

From his first experimental electronic release, Jason Rubenstein has made a radical move into heavy progressive rock. The heaviness doesn't come from the guitars, but the keyboards. There are some guitars here, but it's not obvious if it's programmed, like a synthesizer of if it's a real guitar. Nonetheless, it's the keyboards that are the main instrument. And they are played like a hammer hitting the dark note with repetitive notes that is a recurrent theme throughout the album. While this pattern is heard, there's another keyboards part that is playing at the same time with more symphonic melodies. The music is in the atmosphere of the dramatic style of Ars Nova and on some specific songs, like "The Snowflake Defines the Weather" and "Frankenstein on the Red line", in the style of Keith Emerson of ELP. The general dark mood of the music left some space sometimes to lighter jazz part with piano. The song "Unspeakable Highways" has that horror movie atmosphere that contains one of the most interesting grooves on the album. "A Burden of Secrets" is another standout track that has some lighter passages that I mentioned earlier. But the dark style being a recurrent them is still present. This is instrumental music that sounds like some soundtrack of your nightmare with no ballads, but heavy stuff that combines elements of the old school of progressive rock to some contemporary music of today. The album closes with no surprise here with a tasteful and faithful rendition of "The Barbarian" of ELP.