D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
March
2009
Destination: Fusion
The Conduit Trio shatters the silence with their debut CD, "Beyond Liquid Glass."
The Conduit Trio is an all-original jazz instrumental trio from New Mexico that describes itself as focusing on "new architectures of composition and improvisation." The Silver City trio — Robert Branch on guitar and piano, bass guitarist David Furnas and drummer Joshua English on drums — recently released its debut album, "Beyond Liquid Glass." The disc is a molten fusion of tones, styles and energy, blending clean jazz lines with influences from classical music and a good dose of hard rock and roll.
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From left: Joshua English, drums
and percussion; David Furnas, electric bass guitar; Robert Branch, electric
guitar. (Photo: Andrea Garcia) |
The trio recently finished as a top runner-up in the Gary Allen Song Contest — Allen being a member of the Charlie Daniels Band and JJ Cale, as well as editor of The Music City Beat. Cuts from "Beyond Liquid Glass" have been featured on music-streaming sites like soundclick.com, and the album was recently played in its entirety in Romania, of all places, on a radio show called "For the Love of Guitar."
In addition to informal jamming and performing successful local gigs — and these musicians have performed across the country — Branch and Furnas are co-founders and proprietors of Mountain Air Productions, a Silver City recording studio.
"Beyond Liquid Glass" bursts out of the starting gate with a driving rock-edged piece, then shifts gears to a floating improvisational jazz piece, with lighthearted, feel-good rifts alternating with more experimental Philip Glass-like improvisations and tonal series.
"Improvisation is all about living in the moment," says Branch. "It helps keep us on our toes so that we are at least somewhat prepared for whatever may happen next. Instead of forcing a musical idea into an improvisation, listening and keeping an open mind allows ideas to flow out naturally."
Indeed, the entire album flows in and out of a fully jazz mode and beyond, by turns bouncy and smoky-dark, some cuts downright ethereal, none of them boring.
The group says its music defies traditional boundaries. In this debut album, the trio endeavored to combine diverse elements in unconventional ways, blending melodic lines akin to Pat Metheny with those Phillip Glass-induced moods.
"Beyond Liquid Glass" is a vehicle for the group's musical exploration and shows something of the journey these three talented friends have taken so far. The adventurous jazz lover will enjoy coming along for the ride.
— Donna Clayton
The Conduit Trio's debut CD, Beyond Liquid Glass, is available through CD Baby. Contact: 956-5269, 538-1944, info@conduittrio.com