Adam Holzman & Brave New World

Adam Holzman & Brave New World - Jazz Rocket Science - 2005 - Nagel Heyer

This is the best album released this year. Period! When I first put on this CD, I played the INCREDIBLE opening track "Superhero" 10 times in a row. It was so deep, funky and nasty. I was worried to play the rest of the CD because I thought, "Nothing can possibly top this." Well, I was wrong. Every single one of the 11 cuts on Jazz Rocket Science kicks butt! Adam Holzman is the most innovative musician and composer on the scene today, and his brand new album Jazz Rocket Science is his best release to date (which is saying a lot). Hardly surprising, given the fact that Holzman was personally mentored by the world-famous jazz legend Miles Davis for more than 10 years. As you may recall, jazz became modern, hard-hitting, funky and electric with Miles back in the late `60's. With "jazz fusion," the music began an evolutionary journey that fused rock, R&B and jazz into one powerful experience where anything could happen. Then smooth jazz came along and contemporary jazz got watered down into sweet-as-a-toothache music for people in a dentist's office. BUT THIS CD HAS CHANGED THAT. On Jazz Rocket Science, Holzman pays honor to Davis, his personal mentor. The music is bold and powerful. It delivers full-throttle funk, soulful melodies, gorgeous chords and brilliant improvisation. This is contemporary jazz the way it was meant to be: fresh, bold, exciting, aggressive, experimental and brilliant! Jazz Rocket Science isn't just jazz. It's a creative and fresh take on countless music styles. It combines urban, funk, rock, hip-hop and jazz with cool lush keyboard riffs, deep throbbing basses, funky guitars, thumping drums and cool melodies. If your mouth isn't watering yet, it will be when you take a listen to the seriously hip tunes on this album! You will not find any bland tracks on this CD. Every song is first rate. If Jazz Rocket Science doesn't wake you up, and make you a believer that there STILL IS GOOD MUSIC OUT THERE, then you may as well check yourself into the local retirement home right now. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! - from Review of "Jazz Rocket Science" by & © Isaiah Stewart © Amazon.com

Great funk fusion with the always impressive and amazingly talented Adam Holzman on keys. Other artists playing include Mitch Stein (from The Steve Kimock Band & The Hermanators), Alan Burroughs guitar, Aaron Heick, sax, Freddy Cash Jr., bass; and Alex Elena, drums. Adam's motto is "Optimistic music in the age of fear." "Jazz Rocket Science" is great music in the age of musical mediocrity, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Adam Holzman & Brave New World's "Spork" album. Adam's "Overdrive" album is @ ADMHLZMN/ODRIVE

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Superhero - Adam Holzman, Alex Elena, Mitch Stein 6:05
2 Life On Mars - Adam Holzman 5:54
3 The Telltale Heart - Adam Holzman 5:11
4 The Whole World Is Everywhere - Adam Holzman, Alex Elena 3:44
5 Firewire - Adam Holzman, Alex Elena, Mitch Stein 5:22
6 Level 3 Intro: Airlock - Adam Holzman 1:13
7 Level 3 Containment Suit - Adam Holzman 4:07
8 Maria Rain - Adam Holzman 6:27
9 Kadiddle Hopper - Adam Holzman, Alex Elena 5:44
10 Kryptonite - Adam Holzman 7:05
11 Miles Runs The Voodoo Down - Miles Davis 4:33

MUSICIANS

Adam Holzman - Drums, DX-7, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Korg Synthesizer, Kurzweil K-2000, Kurzweil Synthesizer, Mini Moog, Piano, Electric Piano, Programming, Sampling, Wavestation, Wurlitzer
Alan "AB" Burroughs, Alanda Burroughs, Mitch Stein - Guitar
Freddy Cash Jr. - Bass Instrument
Aaron Heicke - Soprano & Alto Saxophone, Saxophone
Alex Elena - Drums, Programming, Sampling

ADAM HOLZMAN (SHORT BIO)

Jazz keyboardist Adam Holzman (b. February 15, 1958, in New York, NY) has had an interesting career trajectory. The son of Jac Holzman, the president of Elektra Records during its late-'60s heyday, Holzman learned keyboards at an early age, picking up the instrument when he was in the third grade. Since he was in the inner circle of Elektra, he was not only exposed to many of the era's trailblazers, but he was also able to see how they worked. He hung out at Doors rehearsals, met Love, and saw the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in their prime. Like many musicians of his era, he was also heavily influenced by the Beatles. He found himself attracted to the music of Butterfield and the Fab Four, which led him to explore a number of different artists from Leon Russell to Joe Cocker, eventually leading to keyboard-dominated prog-rockers Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes. Holzman's infatuation with prog-rock turned out to be the doorway to his passion for jazz-fusion and synthesizers. In a matter of time, ELP gave way to Chick Corea's groundbreaking Return to Forever and Herbie Hancock's innovative early-'70s work. By the early '80s, he was working at Goodman's Music, a respected instrument store in Los Angeles. At Goodman's, he became an expert in MIDI technology and synth programming, which led to regular studio gigs. Soon, he had attracted the attention of Miles Davis, who was interested in MIDI. He joined Davis' band in 1985. Holzman stayed with the legendary musician for four years, spending his final year -- from 1988 to 1989 -- as the musical director for the entire band. Following his tenure with Davis, he toured and recorded with a variety of artists, including Chaka Khan, Michel Petrucciani, Wayne Shorter, Kolvynator and Kenny Garrett. In the spring of 1997, he joined Grover Washington Jr.'s band. By the late '90s, he was also playing with FM Tribe and Francis M'Bappe in New York City. In addition to his role as a sideman, Holzman pursued many of his own projects. He led the Los Angeles-based jazz-rock group the Fents with guitarist Ted Hall; they released The Other Side on Passport Jazz in 1987. He also formed the prog-influenced Mona Lisa Overdrive, who released an eponymous album in 1993. In the '90s, he released several solo albums -- In a Loud Way (1991), Overdrive (1994) and Big Picture (1997) -- before forming the New York-based, funk-inflected group Brave New World, who were a recording entity in their own right, releasing Worldwind in the fall of 1998. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/adam-holzman-p45164/biography