I'm listening now to Strata Institute's "Cipher Syntax".. no words...

[Foo-O-Matic]

This stuff is so... complex? bizzare? insane?
before listening to this I read it is funky... but I can hardly feel any funk around here
Really, I have no words to describe this stuff..
Are all M-Base recordings like this? or are there a little more melodic / less sophisticatedn ones out there (within the genre) ?

[JimK]

It's almost hard to believe that "Smitty" Smith & Bob Hurst also play in the Tonight Show Band, huh?
Any of the M-Base musicians are "OK" by me.

Guitarist David Gilmore's Lost Tribe is another group you may wanna check out.

[JimK]

...and thanks for the reminder; I just ripped Cipher-Syntax & Transmigration to my PC, soon to be sent to the mp3 player.
"3 Against 2" kicks some ass!

[Foo-O-Matic]

yeah, this thing is really special, although I believe I should get used to it
and btw I edited the post, just to make sure...

[Freeloader]

some of the later stuff steve coleman released is really cool....
i liked 'def trance beat' and 'the tao of mad phat'. both have gene lake on drums. the bassist reggie washington is awesome.
lost tribe is an awesome band too and sort of used some of those m-base concepts. i have two of their albums, the first and second one. they released a third one after guitarist david gilmore left called 'many lifetimes' that isn't as cool as the first two. david gilmore is really one of the coolest guitar players i have ever heard. adam rogers is quite a monster as well.

[Wrong Robot]

The only M-base I've been exposed to is Quite Sane, But that's some gooooooood stuff.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Freeloader

lost tribe is an awesome band too and sort of used some of those m-base concepts. i have two of their albums, the first and second one.

It's nice you have their 1st, the one on Windham Hill Jazz; that's OOP & hard-to-find(at least around here it is).

they released a third one after guitarist david gilmore left called 'many lifetimes' that isn't as cool as the first two. david gilmore is really one of the coolest guitar players i have ever heard. adam rogers is quite a monster as well.

"Concentrics" from Many Lifetimes falls into the M-Base vibe.

[Freeloader]

"Concentrics" from Many Lifetimes falls into the M-Base vibe.

actually, a lot of the stuff in the first two albums is also m-base kinda stuff. a lot of the melodies are really quite endless..... they just go on and on, and then at some point, they sort of start over. that is totally m-base. its like entire tracks based on melodies that sort of dictate the direction of the entire tune. that band is one of those bands you really have to listen to A LOT in order to appreciate. the coolest thing though, is that though their ideas and things were so damn complex, there's something about their music that just makes it so accessible.
even david gilmore's solo release has some m-base elements. i have not heard any of adam rogers' solo stuff, but he really is one the most amazing guitarists that ever walked this earth. his solos on some of the lost tribe tracks are OUT OF THIS WORLD!

anyway, back to steve coleman.... if you really want some information regarding his concepts and things, i remember seeing a lot of information at http://www.m-base.com . his approach and ideas were explained in an extremely detailed manner. i saw this atleast a year ago, and i'm not sure if all that information is still there, but you might want to check it out anyway.

[Ari]

M-base can sound rough sometimes, but I would suggest that you give a listen to the following Steve Coleman albums:

Def Trance Beat
Genesis & the Opening of the Way
Curves of Life
Tao of mad phat
Drop Kick

They're all great albums IMHO.