Extraordinarily gifted jazz musician Ryan Saranich needed a creative jolt, and a means to properly mourn his musical hero, one jazz/fusion legend Chick Corea. So, to free himself creatively from the inherent restraints of sync licensing music, and to celebrate – and express the influences of – contemporary jazz maestro Corea, Ryan, and an ensemble of dependable players, created the album Exceptional Chaos.
Releasing in late July, Exceptional Chaos is exemplary composition, playing, and when necessary, psychically in sync improvisation. Ready to take a trip with zero musical boundaries and endlessly agile and transforming beauty wrung from occasional chaos? Let’s hit the highlights…
Wait. Who does what?
Ryan is joined by old friends and familiar, frequent collaborators, all amazingly talented and eerily intuitive. Here’s the roster:
Ryan Saranich: Tenor Saxophone, Basses, Keyboards, Percussion, Programming
Michael D’Angelo: Drums
Troy Conn: Guitar
Marcus Jones: Trumpet, Keyboards, Programming
Jamie Song: Grand Piano and Synth
Manuel Valera: Rhodes and Synth (Track 5)
Harry Waters: Hammond Organ (Track 2)
Stacy Huggins: Potatohead (yes, Potatohead)
What we’re digging (i.e., the highlights)…..
After takeoff, the album begins with a two-part suite: “Like-Minded Tyrant (Parts I and II, respectively).” Part I is ambient, big-room-filling piano and shimmering outer space effects. Part II is when jazz fusion enters the room: with a brief, bending bass intro, agile lower piano notes lay the music’s foundation. There are brief respites between bars, complete with wailing, punctuating sax. Chord changes shift from mysterious to hopeful, to reaching, at peace, and again under duress. Wowsers.
There’s definitely a Chick Corea feel here. The jazz is familiar, but gassed with a contemporary, Corea-trademarked freneticism. In other words, there’s unbound energy seeping from the gears. What an absolute banger of an opening track.
Track three, “Escape Plan,” opens with another foundational, lower-note piano arpeggio. It’s accented with Ryan’s emotive sax that easily bends between surprising chord changes and quick time shifts. And D’Angelo’s drums are especially clear and precise, with emotion-lifting cymbal crashes, flawless snare rolls and snaps, and a gravity-free autonomy while visiting every locale of the kit. At about 2:58, a melodic sax aside begins, followed by an equally excellent and filter-wavering synth solo – and it’s here I’m reminded of Corea’s superstar jazz fusion group, Return to Forever. Again….wowsers.
“Innerspace Outerference” starts with blinking chords before landing upright with a strong sax melody. I’m especially impressed by the bass solo at about 1:21 (and yep, this means Ryan’s bass playing is right up there with his sax mastery). Shortly after, Troy Conn’s guitar brushes the spotlight with quick and agile flurries and quirky string bends. And to signal its ending, the song returns to its melodic sax line, and finishes in acts of hasty precision.
“Destination Unknown” starts out as more common jazz fare. There are dramatic moments, exceptional note for note instrumental cohesion, and an excellent bouncy Fender Rhodes solo hitting at about 1:55 — it’s playful, but without showing off, it briefly hits speeds at about one-thousand miles per hour. Whew!
“To the Center of the Galaxy,” the first composition written specifically for the album, is Ryan’s personal favorite. Per Ryan, “…it goes (improvisationally) so far out of bounds, and I love that. I think I love it the most because it feels like the least commercial thing I’ve ever written. I liked pushing the limits.” And I have to agree. Revisiting the spacey intro shared on the very first track, “To the Center of the Galaxy” shifts to spectacular chords and rests. Everyone hits their marks in unison, and backs off for various leading, melodic lines. The drums shuffle and propel; the organ simmers with small glowing bubbles; the sax bends, breaks, and reveals in the full light its desperation.
At 5:04, Troy Conn’s blistering guitar begins. It’s a little Alan Holdsworth, a little Guthrie Govan, and a serious helping of fret-burning chaos. In fact, if you listen closely, you can hear the crackling of his fretboard…..
But seriously, I think this might be my favorite track. Everyone is ON POINT, the energy INTENSE, and the soloing? Something from the upper echelon of instrumental greats. I kid you not.
But is it good?
This is so far above “good,” I can’t offer an alternative accurate qualifier. “Amazing?” “Spectacular?” “The stuff of collective supernatural talent??” You get the gist – it’s amazing in composition and execution; actually, it’s too amazing, and I have a feeling Chick Corea is utterly amazed and graciously amused. This is so “recommended,” I can’t recommend it enough. GREAT stuff for fans of contemporary jazz and angular, frenetic fusion. Consider the goal reached and surpassed, boys.
BELOW: Listen to Ryan Saranich and check him out on Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Soundcloud. Please support Ryan by visiting his website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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