Contemporary music these days is placed into many pigeonholes: mainstream modern jazz, "smooth" instrumental pop, industrial, techno, rap, 20th-21st Century avant garde and much more.  All of these sub-genres pay a debt to the original jazz-rock fusion movement of the late '60s-early '70s, as pioneered by Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, and the like.

            From these roots, some branches have turned into dead wood, but others have sprouted wings and fly beyond the boundaries of simple swing or a 4/4 beat.  Such a forward thinking ensemble has flourished in Columbus, Ohio, for the past ten years.  They are dubbed Charged Particles – artists who utilize the precepts of the original fusion movement, churn out original material, and reshape the compositions of their heroes. 

            This recording is the second effort for the trio, and it has been a long time coming.  These musicians are perfectionists in a non-perfect art form.  So they have been stirring the pot and simmering their musical brew in-between recordings through numerous live performances all over the country.  The results are most worthwhile, as you will hear the ensemble emerging more and more as individualists and teammates.

            Much as Charged Particles has a neo-jazz fusion identity, the band lives larger than that limiting tag.  They are quite capable of playing modern post bop, American popular song standards, Brazilian tunes, or out and out funky music.  But the core of their repertoire stems from what they are most interested in, starting from the Corea-McLaughlin-Coryell triad and going out from there on many tangents.  You'll hear influences of Weather Report, the Yellowjackets, Mike Stern, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, the Brecker Brothers, Steps, and Billy Cobham.  But it is their original music that sets Charged Particles apart from other bands of their ilk.  They have worked diligently, with great fortitude and determination, to establish and enhance a collective musical persona that is much bigger than the sum of their cellular parts.

            In essence, jazz is a music of personality and sound more than notes and nomenclature.  The language Charged Particles employs comes from many years of practice, life experiences, and collective learning.  A coalescive cohesion energizes the trio and radiates a confidence and power few small ensembles can boast. 

            These three musicians have recognizable and immense talent.  Keyboardist Caleb Hutslar is a perfect example of perseverance and dedication producing results.  When you meet him, you notice his laid back demeanor and cautious, measured manner.  The fact is, he has painstakingly strived to develop his artistry, using well-developed technological knowledge as a diving board to jump into the multi-faceted jazz waters.  He is a master of colors, exploiting the full spectrum of electronic and acoustic pianos to set the tone for the ensemble’s melodic foundation.  What he holds in reserve is a potential to scale greater heights, for as he grows, matures, and expands his horizons, you're likely, in a wide-open field, to hear a major voice on an instrument that has few masters past Corea, Hancock, and Joe Zawinul.  Caleb Hutslar is that amazing.

            Michael Rak is a fine technical musician and anchors the bottom of the band much like Jaco Pastorius bolstered Weather Report.  His savvy, supple tones drive and cajole the band to rhythmic heights.  A musician who also teaches, Rak is a respected multi-instrumental educator, helping his students to gain proficiency on 25 different instruments.  His greatest accomplishment may lie in the revolutionary instrument he plays, an electric bass guitar of his own design, a one-of-a-kind instrument.  He has devised an interchangeable fret board design that allows him to play the same instrument with frets or without.  This gives him not only the ultimate in flexibility but the widest range of sounds that anyone, save the legendary and equally inventive Pastorius, could have at their disposal.

Charged Particles carries drummer and percussionist Jon Krosnick’s stamp and vision, a shared concept that Hutslar and Rak interpret and extrapolate from.  A classically trained musician, Krosnick uses a distinct, expansive orchestral approach.  He can swing like mad, play complex Latin-influenced polyrhythms, and drive the band with a rhythmic spirit that reflects his mentor, the acclaimed drummer Peter Erskine.  What Krosnick brings to the table is a work ethic, dedication, and determination that are second to none.  He has been the force that not only forges their time but urges the band to do loads of concert and festival dates each year.  Charged Particles is a long-standing working band, something rare in any kind of music, much less contemporary jazz, and it is Krosnick's will power and definitive percussive skill that have made it so.

            Now that you know you're going to hear great musicianship, know also that the music you'll listen to on this CD is all original, written by the band members.  Mike Rak bats lead off in this composers’ line-up with "Evening Street," which bears the distinct signature of Chick Corea.  It's salsa-inspired groove is bursting with bright, complex melodicism reminiscent of Chick.  You'll also hear several sub-melodies, some darker, with unison bass-keyboard lines and room for Krosnick to work out.  Spacy concepts from Hutslar and a tick-tock rhythmic pulse identify "Peladon," a cruisin' the L.A.  freeway tune with a set-aside solo piano section reminiscent of Lyle Mays’s most beautiful playing.  Rak's "Monopoly" is a hard funk jam in every respect; the bassist’s finger popping sounds infused with the Stanley Clarke-Larry Graham-James Jamerson strain. 

            Hutslar's "Three Groups Of Three" is a perfect title for this extended, involved composition.  The prelude uses a grouping of three repeated chords melding into four, and back.  An animated phrase of hyper-kinetic piano leads and follows a hopping samba, bristling with Rak's bubbling bass lines.  Sparks are flying.  The bulk of the tune from the keyboardist’s standpoint is an expansive, symphonic delight, as Hutslar explores the rainbow at his digital disposal.  "In Peace" is Rak's pen to a better world – a sensitive ballad with a melody that is fresh, breezy and intriguing.  The unmistakable fretless, harmonic influence of Jaco Pastorius is evident here, bearing witness full force in Rak's solo.

            An overdubbed Krosnick plays soli on many latin percussion instruments layered over his drum kit statements for the 4/4 descarga, pronounced "Ozi-fera-cacion-a-mien-tito." It's short but sweet.  An obvious reference to Monty Python's Flying Circus comedy troupe evinces the title "Shrubbery," but the music is far from slapstick.  The trio shifts gears frequently, sometimes in mid-stream.  It's basically a rockin' stroll through Zawinulsville, like Caleb In Wonderland, a definite Weather Report variation, and a centerpiece for the group.  For Rak's "The Eleventh Commandment," the adage clearly is "thou shalt not play it safe." This statement displays a foreboding mixing and matching of rock, funk, and avant elements equally blended. 

            Krosnick also proves his mettle as a composer and drum brusher with the spiritual ballad of commitment, "A Smile Of Love." It is dedicated to his wonderful wife, Cathy Heaney, and their beautiful daughter, Alexandra.  The piece is truly an organ of beauty, with Hutslar on piano evoking the tender, languid side of particles recharging.  The hardest swinger on this well paced date, Hutslar's cleverly-titled "Void Where Prohibited" follows.  Still exploiting complex melodic fragments, the band jump-starts the tempo to a sprinting bop, the pianist exploring Bud Powell territory.  It is during the minimalist "Continue" where the brilliance and unique ability of pianist Hutslar comes shining through.  He's astounding - even Steve Reich would be impressed.                     

The program concludes with another deep Corea-esque power samba, "Ambassy," eschewing images of Corea's famed quartet, Return to Forever.  The piece is written by North Carolina-based saxophonist and composer Steve Hiltner, an former resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who worked with Krosnick in the band known first as the Lunar Glee Club and later as the Lunar Octet.  The finale, Rak's "Consequences," rambles in 6/8 time, driven by a spirit of conquest that permeates the whole date.  It's clear that Charged Particles indeed have their own agenda for a personalized musical stance and image not dictated by the latest commercial trend or what the conservative jazz world deems currently popular or hip.

            When someone tags a music group as offering "something for everyone," it's generally jive.  But there’s no jive in the case of Charged Particles.  Their music has delighted younger and older audiences alike, those who know the tradition well and are searching for something new, and those who are being introduced to the tradition for the first time.  Charged Particles’ musical energy is powerfully infectious; inspired by a flame that was ignited long ago and still burns brightly.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

All Music Guide,

Cadence Magazine,

WEMU, 89.1 FM, Ypsilanti, Michigan