OK...a few things I've been listening to lately which incorporate sounds that are diverse but could very well have a lot of crossover appeal; all recorded rather nicely as well.Phil Ranelin: early '70's jazz grooves from a Detroit jazz musician that mined an early jazz-fusion sound. Interesting stuff to come out of nowhere. The re-mix album lovingly compiled by modern producers/mixologists and electronica artists is suprisingly cool as well.Edith Frost: Female indy-musician creating truly sublime tunes. The recent 'Wonder Wonder' is just that; at turns spooky and whimsical, great songs with a touch of country and a patina of psych scattered throughout. Her earlier, much sparser disc of moody, mostly acoustic pop (w/ slight 'experimental' leanings) 'Calling Over Time' is also very, very nice.Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Lots of stuff out, but their current offerings continue to turn out excellent compositions. Jazz with a heavy dose of traditional African stylings, completely free but somehow still calm as the eye of a storm. Any jazz musician that can turn out a cover of 'All Blues' on thumb piano is A-Ok by me.The Necks: Three piece ensemble (bass, piano, drums) from Australia with a pretty heavy cult following. Anything I've heard from them would come highly reommended by my househould as a taste of one possible 'future of jazz'. They do things with the power of repetition and the dynamics of restraint that continue to surprise me. Look at their website at www.thenecks.com for a much better idea and description of their sound than what my meager words could convey.Four Tet/Capitol K/Sad Rockets: All very nice, organically styled electronica artists...if you're inclined to dig into that particular genre.The Walkabouts: 'Train Leaves at Eight' + 'Satisfied Mind' - Recently re-discovered these two great discs comprised of cover tunes by these very under-appreciated purveyors of a unique brand of Americana (even though not ALL of their stuff has lived up to their potential). 'Train Leaves at Eight' digs into both traditional and recent European songs; everything from Mikis Theodorakis to Neu is given the Walkabouts treatment. Satisfied Mind is comprised of a mostly traditional folk & roots music (Carter Family, Charlie Rich, etc.) mixed in with some unusual selections and interpretations of songs by modern artists as well. Wizz Jones: A British folkie of the '60's - '70's often whispered in the same breath as Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, etc. Picked up his "Magical Flight' disc based on a recommendation and it really is nice stuff. A bit overly lush at times for my taste, but it sounds surprisingly fresh even today. Great playing and excellent sound as well. Well...there's my, as they say, 'two cents' worth. Actually more like a couple nickels or even a long winded half dollar really, seeing as I got into an e-rambling mode. Enjoy the sounds!
