Recording: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & All Is Ensemble

Artist: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & All Is Ensemble

Songs: [funky phase] + [cosmic phase]^*

Recorded at The Music Gallery, September 26, 2014.

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & All Is Ensemble - [funky phase]

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & All Is Ensemble - [cosmic phase]

Full review to follow. You have to dig around a bit if you want to keep on top of Doc Dunn's recorded output — a recent series of limited run cassettes was here and gone in a flash, and there have been two LP's over the past year. You can (and should!) grab Tecumseh over at Healing Power's bandcamp, but the more recent All Is mostly exists just on vinyl — and floating through the æther.

It was truly an exciting prospect, then, to hear its "Sun Ra organ combo type of sound" in live form from this keyb-heavy grouping, featuring Dunn plus Carl Didur, Jonathan Adjemian and Mike Smith on various synths and electric pianos plus the percussive powers of Brandon Valdivia and Keiran Adams. Setting the controls for the heart of the groove, the crew showed their skills in the way they allowed each other the requisite amount of space for everything to develop. This was too good a group to perform together just once — if we're all lucky there'll be another chance a little bit further along.

^* Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!