Album Notes

Garaj Mahal is a quartet of the highest pedigree. Formed 5 years ago in San Francisco, the band unites four highly skilled players from across the physical and musical globe. Kai Eckhardt, Fareed Haque, Alan Hertz, and Eric Levy have spent their lives making music and becoming masters of their instruments. Together, they create a sound so singular and spectacular that it defies explanation. Eckhardt's globetrotting bass work, Haque's virtuostic guitar ability, Hertz' unfathomable drumming, and Levy's gymnastic keys meet in a spiritual coalescence of jazz-style improvisation, mystical middle-eastern atmospheres, and danceable American funk.

With Blueberry Cave, Garaj Mahal has achieved a new level of cohesion in the studio. Whereas their debut studio album (Mondo Garaj) was recorded within days of the band's formation, Blueberry Cave shows the positive effect of years spent honing their musical relationship on the road. The album's 10 tracks offer glimpses into the band's cavalcade of musical abilities, like exotic global sounds, breakneck fusion workouts, burbling funk, and their own signature style of songwriting.

The album presents the band's varied creations one by one with a masterful flow. Over the course of the disc, the listener will find that the band is equally adept at simmering grooves ("Alvin," "Bicycling In Bombay"), complex compositions ("The Paladin," "Blueberry Cave"), fun-loving funk jams ("No 'Spect," "Cosmic Elevator"), and raucous rhythms ("The Shadow," "Massive"). There's even some turntable work from DJ Fly that adds subtle accents to the band's percolating performances. The mystery of Blueberry Cave will be matched only by the fascination of those who hear it.

- Bryan Rodgers www.HomeGrownMusic.net