Kotebel - Concerto for Piano and Electric Ensemble. 2012 Spain

Concerto for Piano and Electric Ensemble starts with the four part, 43 minute title track - and despite the name - this isn't an academic exercise in composition studies. Nope - it's pretty much a combination of good old fashioned early 1970s progressive rock and modern avant progressive. The abundance of acoustic piano points to the classic Italian scene like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Metamorfosi, whereas the constant counterpoint and modern production qualities recall anyone from Japan's Machine and the Synergetic Nuts to fellow countrymen October Equus. Concerning the latter, this is no doubt a similarly dense and complicated work, though not quite as impenetrable as October Equus can be at times. Oh, and let's not forget that Kotebel is here to rock, so this isn't some charted sheet music chamber styled tedious snoozefest. The omnipresent Fripp styled guitar leads will certainly keep you awake, if not the persistent rumbling bass and energetic percussion. The "electronic keyboards", as they are credited, certainly like to emulate the mellotron as often as possible. 3 other tracks totaling 16 minutes plus a bonus from 2008 round out the disc in similar fashion. And it's Dad who plays those fancy thing-a-ma-jigs. And he's also the group's founder and main composer. And who's that playing the piano? None other than his 22 year old daughter. You know he is beaming with pride. And he should be.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Musea . Comes with a DVD as well.

8/27/12 (new entry)