Spectra Musique artist: Jordan Officer - Three Rivers - New release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Three Rivers, from Jordan Officer and I'm really looking forward to getting it home on the real system Office has a unique style of blending easy playful tunes with intense bursts of guitar and the opener, Your Body's My Home. An easy paced guitar rhythm and a mellow melody is the stage for crisp and intense burst of guitar energy, backed by Zev Katz on bass and Charley Drayton on drums. Very cool. Big swinger, One Handed Push-Ups is a great jump track featuring officer on lead vocal as well as guitar and violin. This is a snappy track with real fireworks. Super! Easy rocker, Dream of You and Me has nice paired vocals and with solid bass lines, and brushed drums, Officer riffs off some real nice melodic lead solo lines. Slow and quiet is how he approaches Just To Be With You with solid vocals, cool fiddle soloing and crisp guitar riffs...all by officer over bass and drums. Very effective. With a Bo Diddley beat and Roy Buchanan like trem bends, Officer scampers vocally across the New Orleans like drumming of Drayton adding Hawaiian like slide riffs. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Buck Jumping Into New Orleans with a real strong New Orleans rhythmic feel. The thumping bass of Katz, the tom tom backbone of Drayton sets an excellent platform for Officer lay down excellent guitar and violin riffs on a solid closer.

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Jordan Officer - Blue Skies - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Blue Skies, from Jordan Officer and it's actually quite amazing. I recall being quite taken by Officer's earlier release, I'm Free and this album, totally different, shows what a complete artist Officer is.

Opening with the title track, Blue Skies, penned by Tom Waits, Officer slips right into a gypsy jazz mode blowing out absolutely incredibly beautiful riffs on his guitar in a very subdued studio like setting, backed by Alain Berge' on drums and Sage Reynolds on bass. Big Three Trio's Got You On My Mind has an easy blues feel. Officers guitar riffs are tight and spectacular. Fats Domino's It's You Love has trace New Orleans rhythms but subdued with light vocals over sparkling guitar riffs. Arthur Alexander's Shot Of Rhythm and Blues has a pure 60's beat feel and Officer really revs up the playful nature of the rhythm. Clever double stops, vocal harmonies and slick runs give this track a unique feel. Big Joe Turner's Chains Of Love maintains it's traditional blues base with simple vocals and articulate guitar riffs. Sensuous and mature. Instrumental, Night Flight has a Tex Mex rhythm featuring Augie Meyers on keys. Office shows fluid runs and lush chords making this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Leroy Carr's How Long Blues is somber and savory. Maintaining it's rhythmic guitar strum and jazz chords, this track has some of the cleanest blues phrasing that I have heard in a while. Beautiful! Louis Armstrong's That's For Me, is a quiet ballad with strong jazz style picking. Officer is really quite amazing. Phil Spector's Then She Kissed Me maintains Spector's original timing on the melody but double times the guitar work. With the band picking up the bottom almost making it into a country track, Officer maintains his stellar guitar work with my best comparisons being to a young Les Paul. Literally spectacular! Bob Dylan's When The Deal Goes Down, in 3/4 time maintains a quiet composure but Officers incredible elaboration on the fretboard is impossible to ignore. Wrapping the release is another Tex Mex style instrumental, Takin' Off. With Meyers on organ and Tony Albino on drums, this track has a great beat. Office flashes his teeth a few times but keeps his guitar contained for this quiet closer. This release may not be for everyone, but I recommend that everyone check it out. It is really quite different...and amazing!

   

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Jordan Officer - I'm Free - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, I'm Free, from Jordan Officer and it's terrific! Opening with At Least I've Got The Blues, a cool walking, Thrill Is Gone like track, Officer talks his lyrics, not unlike one of my all time favorites, Roy Buchanan, and lets his guitar do the talking. His guitar knows exactly what to do with beautiful tone and unquestionable phrasing. Excellent! A Night Of Fun, is up next with a carnival kind of feel. Tony Mason on drums and Jeff Hill on bass balance out this track. With a cool light jazzy touch this is a bright player. Title track, I'm Free, is a nice slow T-Bone Walker style track with beautifully articulate guitar work. Charley Drayton on drums and Andy Hess just sit tight in the pocket as Officer shows how it is done. Brilliant! When We Were Just Two is a cool retro track with a Bo Diddley beat. Loose guitar work and rhythmic backing make this a cool track. I'm All Alone had a cool Roy Head like vamp with a minimalist backing allowing the guitar riffs to breathe easy. Stylistic rather than pyrotechnics rule this track. Very nice! Jackie's Tune is a slow bluesy instrumental. This track really has feeling with well thought out riffs and runs. Although not the most dynamic track on the release, it may be my favorite just due to it's overall mastery. Excellent! Two Will Do is a bebop track featuring Officer and Mason on a tight jam. Officer does sing a few bars but it's the slick fretboard mastery that really makes this track hum! Life Just Showed Me is exclusively electric guitar and vocal. A simply strong track with solid vocals and rich blues riffs. On classic, Ain't Nobody's Business, Officer slows it down a bit and does some of his best stylized vocals on the release. His masterful guitar accompaniment along with the drumming of Tony Mason show a true appreciation for the original track and also his personal interpretation of a well known classic. Very nice! Wrapping the release is one of those western tracks that I always look for. Hang 'Em High sticks rhythmically to a western line but Officer gives it a real modern bluesy spin. I like his spontaneity and insight. This is a truly unique release and one I feel deserves strong recognition.

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