December 23rd last year, Jan Sturiale, with his team of exceptionally talented musicians, released the nine-track album ‘Roadmaps”. The album pays true tribute to the melodies of jazz and the magic that is whipped when all the styles of jazz are brought together. Jan Sturiale has always experimented with the jazz music. In “Roadmaps”, he has been able to elevate the music to a whole new level that is far more open and complex, yet holds on to its originality.
Jazz, contemporary jazz, and instrumental are the primary styles in “Roadmaps”. Now, these styles are beautiful on their own, but when they come together in the same song, the music that is created is enchanting.
“Roadmaps” Tracklisting
The songs in the album are:
- Full Moon
- The E Song
- Roadmaps (Title Track)
- One Little Finger
- Intro
- Major Suspension
- Mercy Street
- Blessed Relief
- Dark Grey
Rehearsal Video: The Making of “Electric Water”
“Full Moon” is an upbeat track which starts with neat little beats and soon spins in the smooth jazzy tones. The music dips and rises again in between before slowly fading into slower melodies. Yet throughout the song there is a constant undertone that keeps the track moving forward and the instrumentals are spot on as they go from foot tapping to quirky in a matter of seconds.
“The E Song” has quite an unusual composition when it begins, but the track soon gets in to familiar territories of jazz and contemporary jazz. It is very playful but still somewhat grounded by the background notes of the instrumentals.
“One Little Finger” has a more tranquil note to it and somewhat melancholy. But the strains suddenly pull through and the music is very uplifting. The fun of acoustics blended with jazz comes back with “Major Suspension” and continues to echo through in “Blessed Relief”, though in the latter, Sturiale keeps a slower pace with the beats and the background instrumentals.
“Roadmaps”, the track that shares its title with the album itself, has again Sturiale’s shining creativity in combining jazz with instrumentals and working with the pace in every turn with the music. The track starts off slowly but soon spins into a faster note. There is an emotional and soft echoing of the jazz tunes as the track moves with the beats growing and then dropping again.
“Dark Grey” is just like its name suggests – a little dark, somewhat mysterious and without any fun highlights in the music. However, it is wonderfully complex and has weighty grooves that might seem a little detached, but it is emotional at its core.
“Intro” showcases the beauty of contemporary jazz and the skillful usage of the saxophone, the guitar and the piano creating a background score that reverberates with versatility and vivid musical detailing. “Mercy Street” too has a vortex of acoustics with steady beats and riffs before the melodies turn sweeter and swaying.
Artists in the Album
“Roadmaps” features Jan Sturiale on the guitar, Jure Pukl on the saxophone, Marko Churnchetz on the piano, Miha Koren with bass, and Klemens Marktl on the drums. Music is mixed and recorded by John Davis at Bunker Studios and mastered by Alex DeTurc at Strange Weather Studios; both the studios are located in Brooklyn, New York.
Sturiale has acknowledged that recording this album has been a pleasant journey he shared with these musicians and that it has created an environment where the relationship will thrive. This seems to have reflected in his music as well. “Roadmaps” is an eclectic collection that brings together multiple styles and unique sound engineering, which is calming yet stimulating and smooth yet buoyant.
More on “Roadmaps” and Jan Sturiale
- Jan Sturiale official website
- Jan Sturiale on Facebook
- Jan Sturiale on Instagram
- Jan Sturiale on Twitter
- Jan Sturiale on bandcamp
- Jan Sturiale on SoundCloud
- Jan Sturiale on YouTube
