Roseland by Acoustic Alchemy

Reviewed by Chris Mchale

When original band member Nick Webb passed away in 1998, I figured the days of Acoustic Alchemy as a viable band were over. It also appeared the days of smooth jazz, the prevailing label at the time constantly slapped on Acoustic Alchemy’s brand of music, had seen its best days and was slowly fading away with the end of the century. Now in 2011, I find myself listening to a new release by the band, a band obviously set on enduring through personal changes, music reformations or any other cultural turmoil that might come their way.

Perhaps the clue to their staying power is in the name. They constantly seek new chemical interactions, drop all sorts of influence into their mortar and pound away; alchemists in practice as well as name.

Roseland, their latest release, was not just a spur of the moment jam session released on a whim. Four years in the making, the band cooked up a nice musical stew, spiced with flavors of contemporary jazz, rock, reggie and even a helping of country music.

Greg Carmichael, features his nylon string acoustic guitar on the opening tune, "Marrakesh." This is familiar territory, a riff and approach well-worn, but welcome nonetheless and laid out in the arrangement with precision and snap. The band is taking us on a journey with no sharp turns or unexpected codas, but that is no bad thing. In some ways, Acoustic Alchemy is a celebration of consistency.

The gospel tinged "One For Shorty," adds a nice Hallelujah to the band’s idea that maybe, just maybe, open, accessible music played well, tight and controlled still has a place in our contemporary over-programmed musical universe. On the title track, “Roseland,” electric guitar from Miles Gilderdale, opens up new pathways for the band to move down, a pumping but contained groove leads both electric and then nylon guitar into a comfortable exploration of lead lines and improvisations.

“Templemeads,” begins with an almost (almost, not quite) Coldplay type build and chordal exploration. It has an understated grandness to it that put me in a peaceful Sunday morning frame of mind. Maybe it is not right to reference a rock band that may have been influenced by Acoustic Alchemy versus the other way around, but either way it shows this band has not left itself stranded back in the 90’s.

The reggae beat under "Ebor Sound System," eases us into a back and forth that might be unique to Acoustic Alchemy, a defined nylon guitar trading riffs with a wah infused electric guitar. Longtime fans of the band love this kind of inclusiveness. The Brazilian tune "Sand on Her Toes," opens with the type of chord sequence only a sophisticated musicianship might apply itself to, deployed with a casual shrug of the musical shoulders from a band of masters. It is a sublimely simple arrangement, with Gilderdale once again edging up the proceeding with electric guitar.

The next tune proves we have reached the center of this CD’s specific matrix, as the listener is whisked from the sandy beaches of Rio, to country-tinged music featuring slide guitar, on the tune “Stealing Hearts.” The band simply asks the listeners to open their ears to all of these influences. 

Acoustic Alchemy’s agenda is straightforward. Follow their musical instinct into any genre and make music with it. Roseland is as fresh sounding as any release by the band and after nearly thirty years of work, that says quite a lot about the quality of this music.