Album Notes

Wayward Monks play a groundbreaking mixture of instrumental jazz, new age, and progressive rock. People who miss the golden fusion days of Miles Davis, Santana, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Grateful Dead, and Weather Report are crazy about them, download mass quantities of mp3's from their web site (613 hits, 78 downloads in three months), and drive many miles to see them perform around the Bay Area. Their 75-minute CD of 13 of their songs was recorded at OTR Studio, the birthplace of classic recordings by Max Roach, George Winston, and other great instrumentalists.

But why name your band after medieval Buddhist monks who strayed from the "correct" path to enlightenment and were reincarnated as goats. Says lead guitarist, trumpet player, and lead writer Dan Zalles, "we wanted a name that symbolized our attitude toward our music and why we play the way we do. We take inspiration from our musical influences, then throw curve balls at them, with odd meters and jams that sound different each time. We're not smooth or slick enough pass off as formal jazz school graduates but too cerebral to pass off as your typical rock n roll garage band."

Wayward Monks' are a real breath of fresh air in the stale jazz and rock scenes. Their songs are rhythmically and stylistically varied, yet each song is distinctively melodic. Before you know it, you're humming at least some of them. At the same time, you hear a driving cauldron of sound that's equal parts cerebral and emotional. Dan's guitar and trumpet lines weave their way around Mike Disch's compelling bass grooves and Jason Ravitz's organ and piano textures, powered by the amazing Jeremy DeGroot on drums. Some of the songs switch meters seamlessly. This is one of the few bands that can actually swing in 7/8 (check out "Hopalong Hannah").

Wayward Monks live in the San Francisco Bay Area and came together in the late Fall of 2001. Jeremy and Dan played together ten years ago in the Reckless Pedestrians, a popular rock band that played regularly at Berkeley's Starry Plough and backed Chris Isaak, among others. More recently Jeremy drummed in the popular JDogs, which mixed jazz grooves and hip hop. Dan has composed close to 100 songs and has been the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for a number of Bay Area bands, starting with the early-80's punk/new wave outfit British Wire Gauge. A BWG song called "Pray TV" was heavily played and promoted on local radio. Mike played bass in popular Bay Area jam band Shady Lady. Jason has performed in New England, New Orleans, and California in jazz, rock, and performance art groups. Wayward Monks live and perform regulary in the San Francisco