ZEN CARNIVAL - BARDO - 2006

In 1994 the American band EOS was formed, envisioning a combination of "unique arrangements, strong melodic and chord structures, and improvisation in one cohesive style". The four-piece was renamed SOL in 1997 and then ZEN CARNIVAL a year later. The band's musical flavor had evolved rapidly, and the addition of keyboard player Mike James finally completed a cycle in this outfit's musical history. By this point, the songs from the album Inheritance were written and arranged. Although the band was gaining recognition and writing lots of material, changes in musical style came quickly. After the release of the album Inheritance in 1999, Jeff Park and Ken Pfeifer took some time off to pursue other musical projects. Despite the loss, Bill Denison, Chris Geihe and James continued to work tremendously, exploring more of the jazz elements and free improv in their compositions.

The band worked with vocalist Jonathan Brody on some of this new material. In 2001, Pfeifer rejoined James and Denison and the three members started recording a new album, exploring the common areas of interest in their unique musical friendship. Carl Puglisi joined ZEN CARNIVAL in 2002, playing drums and percussion for the new album Bardo, which was released in 2006.

Significant for this album is the variety of colors including Symphonic, Canterbury, Neoprog and Avant elements with much thoroughness and perfectionism. You should also check out the band's podcasts at http://feeds.feedburner.com/ZenCarnivalPodcast with interesting interviews and song snippets.
http://www.progarchives.com

Some may remember the debut album Inheritance from Massachusetts' Zen Carnival back in 1999. This contemporary progressive rock band are finally back with their follow-up release, titled Bardo. The music of Zen Carnival has a certain British prog flair to it, somewhat along the lines of IQ, Marillion, Pendragon, and Genesis, but with a strong American jazz influence as well. The line-up for Bardo is Ken Pfeifer (vocals, keyboards), Bill Denison (guitar, bass, production), Mike James (keyboards), and Carl Puglisi (drums, percussion), and the end result created by this four-piece is a pleasant progressive rock experience.

The first thing you notice is the exceptional vocals of Pfeifer, who sounds quite a bit like IQ's Peter Nichols and even Marillion's Steve Hogarth at times, and the lush, symphonic keyboards of Mike James. Tunes like "In This World" and "Blindness" are epic in scope, very melodic, with plenty of room for musical interplay, which the band participates in quite well. Guitarist Denison throws in the occasional crunchy riff, but mostly contributes some searing, legato solos as well as intricate bass lines. His wonderful tone comes through on the emotional "Half Awake", as he drifts through the mix with a gutsy sound that has bits of jazz, Steve Hackett, and Eric Johnson. If you like your prog a little more aggressive, check out "Shadows Speak", the Return to Forever-ish instrumental "The Gate" (featuring some nimble drumming from Puglisi and soaring guitar & keyboard interplay), and the bombastic "Zeitgeist", another fusion oriented instrumental. One of my favorites though is the symphonic epic "Pins and Needles", a real prog rock gem with no shortage of vintage sounding keys, tasty guitar passages, and Pfeifer's strong vocals.Through many twists and turns this one takes the listener, and it's an adventurous ride all the way.

American prog is still alive and well folks, and if you don't believe it, check out this latest from Zen Carnival. It took a while for them to get Bardo out, but it was worth the wait.
http://www.seaoftranquility.org