REVIEW: The Rudess Morgenstein Project, The Rudess Morgenstein
Project
- Linda Scott
The self titled debut album from the Rudess Morgenstein Project throws up a barrier as if to say, 'If you don't know what this is all about, find something else to listen to." But if you could just open it in the store - or find a listening booth - you just might take it home.
What is Rudess Morgenstein? For the millions of us not in the know, Jordan Rudess and Rod Morgenstein are part of that unique rock band, Dixie Dregs. Rudess is the keyboardist and Morgenstein is drummer for this instrumental jazz/fusion/rock band. The Dregs' most famous member is stellar guitarist Steve Morse although Morgenstein is well known as the glam/hair band Winger's skinman.
Dregs fans are legendary; they love the set switches from to rock to country to jazz to bluegrass, jigs and classical in a format bandleader Morse calls "electronic chamber music". Their rendition of "Kashmir" could make Page/Plant look over their shoulders. In short, a wonderful instrumental band that can do it live or on an album. And if you're a Dixie Dregs fan or a fan of instrumental music, you'll want to hear the Rudess Morgenstein's take on this genre.
If the keyboardist/drummer seems strange or sparse, the two had a chance to try it live first. In 1994 with the Dregs on tour, a power failure took out everything but the keyboards. Morgenstein flailed away at the drums joined by Rudess for an impromptu 10 minute drum/keyboard jam which inspired this project.
The ten tracks here bring you about 50 minutes of music. You'll hear rock combined with elements of classical, jazz, and pop along with the latest music technology. The album seems to have less rock than a Dregs album and with no covers of "My Sharona", you can take this one to the office without fear of offending or distracting. This is one of the weaknesses for Dregs fans: because the Project doesn't rock hard enough and performs a more 'thinking man's' music than the Dregs, casual listeners may not get this record. That will be their loss.
Both Rudess and Morgenstein are excellent musicians. Rudess began at Juilliard at the age of nine being groomed for a concert pianist career. But at age 18, he walked out of Juilliard to immerse himself in the rock and synthesizer world. In 1994 he was voted Best New Talent by Keyboard Magazine readers. Morgenstein's drumming style led to his winning Best Progressive Rock Drummer from Modern Drummer Magazine for 5 years in a row. Morgenstein also helped found Dixie Dregs and the Steve Morse Band. His drums pushed the sales of Winger albums toward the 4 million mark, and he plays drums on Kip Winger's new pop album. The Project brings together these two megatalents who wanted to try something new.
This type of music with few musicians, lots of technical musical gadgets may not appeal to all. That synth, perfect sound may just not make it for you. On the other hand, Rudell and Morgenstein are part of Dixie Dregs, and the Dregs ARE worth listening to. See what this subset of the Dregs can do. And now that you've figured out who and what the Rudess Morgenstein Project is, you could spare them a listen.
