They don\u2019t call it mood music for nothing.\u00a0 Whether my mood is upbeat or downbeat, serious or playful, extroverted or introverted, there are musical choices aplenty to complement, enhance or counteract it.<\/p>\n
Edo Castro — in addition to playing one of the coolest-looking instruments ever built, a fretless eight-string bass \u2013 on his sophomore solo release Early tracks \u201cBeneath An Evening Sky,\u201d \u201cBone Dreams\u201d and \u201cSong Of The Electric Whales\u201d have a contemplative, unrushed, elegant feel, becoming almost hypnotic in places.\u00a0 The synth textures, percussion and Debopriyo Sarkar\u2019s tabla on \u201cBone Dreams\u201d are especially evocative.<\/p>\n \u201cBlue Asia\u201d has greater structure, lending it more of straight jazz feel, but it could hardly be called mainstream when it\u2019s built around a duet between two bass players, Castro and guest Mark Egan.\u00a0 This tasty cut also features intricate percussion work from Paul Van Wageningen and Ian Dogole, as well as production crisp enough to remind of Steely Dan.<\/p>\n \u201cChance Of Rain\u201d and \u201cThe Gift Of Blue (Parts 1 & 2)\u201d carry forward the earlier contemplative mood and pace, though \u201cChance\u201d has a particularly steady-thrumming bass line that adds firmness and tension.\u00a0 In between, the title track returns to straight jazz, with a stuttering rhythm section underpinning some terrific sax work from George Brooks, complemented nicely by Lorn Leber\u2019s electric guitar and Tommy Kesecker\u2019s vibes.<\/p>\n