Altered

Altered - Graphic - 2005 - Flitcraftmusic

This is some GREAT progressive jazz/fusion music. It is obvious that both the guitarist and bass player have some major music theory knowledge, and it is applied tastefully and intelligently on this release. I don't know anything about this band ... I saw them somewhere on another CD website, looked them up here on Amazon, listened to some of the music samples, and went ahead & bought the download .mp3 disc (CHEAP!!). I know they are a trio -- other than that, your guess is as good as mine. The compositions are hip and don't stay in one place too long. Great grooves, with superlative bass and drum parts, and nice interplay within the band. This is trio jazz about as well as it can be composed and performed. All the players have quality, well-defined tones; the production is clear and unintrusive. The styles of the music vary from song to song, with the band sounding like Tribal Tech at it's best one moment and maybe a Larry Carlton- (at his loosest!) or a Kevin Eubanks-type jazz the next. (... And throw in a bit of Jones - McGill - DeCarlo textures for good measure!!) This is an absolutely superb release ... it's a shame that hardly anyone has heard of these guys. Since you are reading this, at least YOU have heard of them now -- so, by all means, BUY THIS DISC and groove on it!!!! – from ***** Best Trio Ever?? ..., July 11, 2010 By & © John Mcguire "Guitar Villain" (O'Brien, FL) © 1996-2013, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Altered/product-reviews/B000CA8E38/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Well structured, aggressive instrumental electric fusion with a jagged edge and brilliantly played by Altered, the L.A. based instrumental power trio. The band have been compared to artists like Tribal Tech and Allan Holdsworth. Altered will never be as famous as either of these artists, but the musicianship is excellent and this band deserve a bigger audience. The original “Graphic” album was/is on sale at Amazon for an insane $109.68. You can download the album from cdbaby.com for $9.99, and I would urge you to do so. Music downloading and uploading will always be a controversial subject…..depriving the artist of income, etc, etc. The reality is that so many people are just not aware of these bands and with more promotion, these albums WOULD be bought. Read John McGuire’s article from Amazon.com. This guy’s opinion reflects what is happening in the music business. Far too many great artists are constantly “flying under the radar” into obscurity because no one hears them. This has always been the Number 1 objective of A.O.O.F.C, i.e, to promote the lesser known artists and most definitely not to deprive them of income. I myself have bought around 90% of the albums on this blog, and I know for a fact that many other music lovers have also bought these albums when they realise just what they are missing. “Graphic” is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out Altered’s s/t album and listen to the band’s “Angular” album on this blog. Support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 100 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Graphic 5:41
2 Bug 6:01
3 Digging Out 7:29
4 Two Weeks From Everywhere 3:51
5 Percolate 2:38
6 Dr. James 7:18
7 Reunion 10:38

Exact composers not known, but band members usually write original music individually and collectively

BAND

Jeff Miley - Guitar
John Flitcraft - Bass
Steve Holmes - Drums

A LITTLE ABOUT ALTERED

Guitarist, Jeff Miley received his B.M. in music performance from Cal State Northridge in 1988. Notable features in the music press include: Gendai Guitar Magazine (Japan), Jazzwise (U.K.), and Guitar Player Magazine (featured as the Spotlight Award Winner). Jeff focuses his energy everyday into performing, writing, producing, and recording original music. As a B.I.T. graduate and former B.I.T. instructor, bassist John Flitcraft has 15+ years of experience playing and recording jazz, funk, rock, and theater music. Also a Berklee College of Music alumnus, he has been teaching Bass since 1988. Since moving to LA in '93, drummer Steve Holmes has played with Lee Ritenour, Dorian Cheah, Tony DoRosario, and recorded with Celine Dion, Jenifer Paige, Nidia Rojas and Gary Dourdan. His well received instructional video Shed Some Light is now available worldwide from Hal Leonard. He is currently freelancing in the LA area. He endorses Zildjian Cymbals. - http://alteredjazz.com/