A.J. Love
Interplanetary Funk
© 2002 Angel Magic Music
CD permanently out of stock. Sorry!
"...guitarist A.J. Love picks up where he left off, burning some of the most intense, spiritualized fusion this side of Miles Davis' Dark Magus." -- Isthmus Newspaper Review
tracks
- 1 Cosmic Weather
- 2 Tears for Earth
- 3 Mr. Cool
- 4 Sunshine on a Rainy Day
- 5 Who Knows
- 6 Spirituals from Neptune/A Love Supreme
- 7 Jupiter Revisited
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'Toss Hendrix, Coltrane, Miles Davis, Prince and Parliament-Funkadelic into a musical blender, and you might end up with the mind-altering Funk/Jazz purveyed by guitarist A.J. Love. He's jammed with Buddy Miles and learned about musical independence from Hanah Jon Taylor, who plays sax in his band. Love and Taylor can make their instruments howl in multiple languages.
Energy, obviously, is never a problem. "Every show is different, and every show is designed to be played as if it might be the last show we ever get to do," says Love. "We give 100 percent passion and commitment."'
---Isthmus Newspaper, Madison WI
A.J. Love's album, "Interplanetary Funk", is available exclusively from Angel Magic Music.
Hanah Jon Taylor is a member of Chicago's AACM (Artists for the Advancement of Creative Music) and has performed with Miles Davis, Ritchie Havens and Roscoe Mitchell. He has performed throughout Europe and North America to rave reviews.
Jeff Eckels, the bassist on "Interplanetary Funk", is a renowned bassist who has performed with Wynton Marsalis and Joe Lovano.
Gerald Williams, who has performed with James Ingram and Coke Escovedo among others and toured all over the world, is the drummer on "Interplanetary Funk" who lays down the funky beats that brings the funkability to the Interplanetary.
"The kid can PLAY!!!"- Buddy Miles
"A.J. Love reaches for the skies...a must for experienced guitar freaks." - Isthmus Newspaper Critic's Choice, Madison WI
reviews
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Far Out Funky Music!
author: Laura T. Lynch of Kweevak.comInterplanetary Funk is the latest release from electric guitarist A.J. Love. A.J has created an out of this world funk jazz collection. He blends Hendrix, Coltrane, Miles Davis and Prince into his own unique cosmic wonder. Interplanetary Funk is energetic, soulful and spirited. Love credits the song writing to each member of the band as a reminder that jazz is an improvisational art in which each member is contributing. A.J. and company are stellar together. The music is flawlessly produced by Love who has captured the spontaneity and power of live jazz performances on this studio release. ‘Cosmic Weather’ has an immense sound with dancing horns, steady percussion and subtle but strong guitar work. ‘Jupiter Revisited’ has sultry horns, solid bass and funky guitars. Love, Jon Taylor, Williams and Eckels radiate synergy on this aptly named CD that is sure to please.
CD Review from Maximum Ink Music Magazine
author: John NoydExhibiting exquisite taste in his Coltrane meets Hendrix fury, electric guitarist A.J. Love's aptly titled "Interplanetary Funk" radiates exceptional restraint. The incredible synergy of his collaborative efforts with Jeff Eckels, Hanah Jon Taylor and Gerald Williams unleashes an effortless stream of shape shifting jams. Compact galaxies come to life refracted through a furious whirlwind of dancing horns, elastic bass and sharp drums. Supernova chromatics rise amid a shower of sequined solos, surfing from funky blues to unraveling jazz while constantly maintaining a tightly controlled burn.
Review from Isthmus Newspaper, Madison WI
author: Tom Laskin -- Isthmus NewspaperBack from a synapse-cleansing sojourn in the Montana mountains, local guitarist A.J. Love picks up where he left off, burning some of the most intense, spiritualized fusion this side of Miles Davis' Dark Magus. In fact, it comes as no surprise that the whole album is dedicated to Davis and his high jazz-rock period. Or that it borrows a portion of his '70s studio method, which focused on recording multi-part jams live and editing for continuity and length afterwards. Thanks to the participation once again of longtime partner Hanah Jon Taylor (who plays more sax than flute here), Love has a rich, post-Coltrane atmosphere within which to do his stuff. And that stuff is considerable. He can be bluesy and introspective, as he is on "Sunshine on a Rainy Day," or downright blistering on funky things like the appropriately titled "Mr. Cool," a hip-rolling strut that busts out in cascades of anarchic distorted guitar when you least expect it. Ironically, the pace falters when Love's dynamic foursome approaches Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows," a bedrock guitar track that really resists contemporary glosses. However, things kick back into nitro-fueled overdrive with the band's original jazz-funk meditation "Jupiter Revisited," a blast into hyper-space that shows off Love's soul-power riffing, Taylor's hot-wired sax skronk and drummer Gerald Williams' heavy-duty timekeeping to excellent effect. Electric brain floss of the highest order.
"Interplanetary Funk is awesome!"
author: 5strats On Fenderforum.comI received A.J.'s new CD "Interplanetary Funk" in the mail over the weekend and listened to it this morning. This is an incredible CD!!!! The music is sort of a very hip combination of funk, jazz and R&B, with some very excellent Hendrix-approved guitar playing. IMHO A.J. has best fuzz tone I've heard on record since Jimi. The rhythm secion is outstanding and the brass musicians are great, especially the sax player. The CD is very organic sounding and is recording quality is top notch. VERY COOL!!!! I highly recommend anyone who loves instrumental music buying a copy.
Review of Interplanetary Funk from FenderForum.com
author: Chris KramerI bought one of AJ's new CD's and just recieved it a few days ago. The title is Interplanetary Funk. It's an extremely well produced CD and the sound of the thing is totally professional, not overproduced, but its definitely no garage demo tape. The music brings to mind several great musicians and bands when you hear it, but its very original and I can't think of any current music on the market right now that sounds very similar. Some of the music the CD brings to mind are Frank Zappa (without the stupid lyrics - this is all instrumental), John Scofield, Branford Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, Jimi Hendrix and of course its got the funk of James Brown and P-Funk in there too. Don't misunderstand me, the music is not so derivative that it sounds like any of these folks specifically, there are just elements present that remind me of those folks. I believe that Lenny Kravitz and the Black Crowes are WAY more derivative of their influences than AJ's band. The music is all instrumental with a great funky groove lurking behind everything. To pin it down specifically, the music is *sort of* like some of John Scofield's quartet albums...just not as boring ;-). Also, Zappa's "Shut up 'n play yer guitar" album comes to mind, without the long drawn out guitar solos. AJ is an excellent guitarist and shows tremendous restraint. He really lets all of the players in the band shine and it results in a very well balanced group sound. If I could offer any criticism at all, it would be that I would like to hear just a bit more guitar in all the songs and that the CD would be twice as long. Great job AJ and company! I hope your band has a ton of success.
- author: Pedro Valdes
Interplanetary Funk is great because AJ did what all great bandleaders do ~ hire the best guys available and let them do their thing. Jeff Eckels, is simply the best bass player in the area (and I don't mean just in Madison). Gerald Williams is a tight, groove-oriented drummer and Hanah Jon Taylor is simply otherworldly. It's a combination of Hendrix and funk in a jam format. The improvisation is focused and the brevity of the tunes makes for a greater impact. This CD isn't for everybody but for anyone who wonders 'what might have been' had Jimi stuck around this is a glimpse of at least one possibility.