MATHEMATICIANS - IRRATIONAL NUMBERS - 1994

YEAR: 1994
STYLE: Progressive Rock/ Fusion
FORMAT: FLAC (Image + Log + Cue + Scans + 5% Recovery)
SIZE: 239 Mb
COUNTRY: USA
THE BAND: Larry McCullough / guitars, midi guitars, keyboards; Kevin Kouts / drums, tabla, bowed cymbals; Eddy Humphrey / basses, "Chapman Stick", backing vocals; Yun Hui / keyboards, tantra, giggles; Cathy Morris / violins solos

Appropriately named, this all-instrumental outfit from Indianapolis plays a driving rock-fusion that is at once complex, energized, and accessible. The lineup varies from track to track, but generally is a four piece of guitar/midi-guitar, keys, bass/Chapman Stick and drums with guesting help on flute, percussion, and acoustic piano. The seven tracks on this, their debut CD, show a high degree of compositional skill and musicianship, and plenty of originality to boot. Their style is identifiably American, yet not so immediately comparable to any others - hints of electric Al Dimeola surface from time to time, also Goodsall, Scott Henderson, Steve Morse, and others, but truthfully these guys are blazing their own trail. An impressive start for these Mathematicians, their disc is a smoker from the first track to the last, with nary a slow moment in between. Fans of the aforementioned should find much in their music to enjoy. My highest recommendation. - PETER THELEN-Exposé, Newark, CA

Where the hell have these guys been? From the Midwest comes this powerhouse quintet playing a fast and furious instrumental jazz/rock with an emphasis on the rock. Actually, Irrational Numbers' progressive attributes go off on a tangent to much modern fusion, as evidenced by the 'symphonic' rock aplomb of "Dance of the Nile", which might just be Yes if they covered Return to Forever or a hypothetical meeting between Uzeb and UK. Even when things get skanky and heavy ("Frontiers") the band's extraordinary arranging skills emphasize compositional over individual chops. Too bad the album is so short - at a mere thirty-five minutes, you wish its indomitable stamina could just go on forever. - DARREN BERGSTEIN-i/e Magazine, Phoenix, AZ

Here is an excellent little recording (37 minutes) of a quality that, alas, we rarely see at Harmonie. Why? Because the genre so superbly handled here is none other than jazz-rock. Yes, it's real, it's pure, the kind that makes fans of trash metal and hard rock consider a pain in the ... And so do even hardened "progsters" (I know a couple of them) who have forgotten that technique is an integral part of their favorite type of music. OK, so jazz-rock at its apogee (around '76-'77) had become overblown because some artists insisted on a certain pretentious "spirituality" or instrumental solos of diverse sorts with one point in common - they were unending. But when we run across some recordings from Weather Report, one or two things from Passport (a really good German group), Brand X and their second-hand drummer (Phil Collins) or a genuine certified 36 carat diamond, DiMeola live, MacLaughlin and DeLucia...a real marvel!, we can't help but feel a real wave of intense emotion. Well, when I hear the Mathematicians, I just can't help myself, my foot starts marking the rhythm, my head starts bobbing, and my face starts twitching in a way that may not be very flattering! Hey, these guys are really, really good (cool Jack) and burn up your speakers with a diabolical drum beat, controlled side-slips of six incandescent cords, and most of all with a "Fender Jazz Bass" which breathes the beat of life into the music, heavy and muted like a primitive pump that forms the heart of this festive and pleasurable music.

These Americans with a name that's a real turn-off for me (math and I crossed paths often enough but we never really got along) have put out a classy album, the technical sensuality of its mind-boggling but never boring, just the "super-work" of masters of technique who let themselves go wild, half-way between jazz and rock at a place it's good to find still exists after all these years. Placed among Uzeb, the only one to hold the torch above the crowd, Quidam and certain overheated exploits of Santana or of Satriani or Zappa (thanked by the way on the jacket), MATHEMATICIANS (grr....that name!) will tumble out onto your player like a hot potato. Be careful not to burn your fingers when you put it in. - Bruno Versmisse- Harmonie Magazine, Meulan, France
http://www.mathematicians.com

Track Listing:
1. Spanish Main
2. Dance of the Nile
3. Orlando Furioso
4. Quadari
5. Frontiers
6. Rain
7. Shellshock


The Band:
- Larry McCullough / guitars, midi guitars, keyboards
- Kevin Kouts / drums, tabla, bowed cymbals
- Eddy Humphrey / basses, "Chapman Stick", backing vocals
- Yun Hui / keyboards, tantra, giggles
- Cathy Morris / violins solos