Fiftysomething LA resident Jeffrey Roden has been making music for a number of years, and has concentrated on composing music for electric bass guitar since the 1990’s. Seeds of Happiness pt 1 was his fourth album, originally issued on his own Big Tree Music label in 2005. This album has now been augmented and expanded with a further fourteen tracks and released on New Albion as Seeds of Happiness.
An album consisting of solo bass guitar improvisations – this did not at first sight strike me as the perfect recipe for musical satisfaction. It was with some trepidation that I placed the disc into the player – and was then pleasantly surprised as the opening notes of ‘On Awakening’ slowly coalesced in the room. Jeffrey Roden creates his own unique soundworld. The sound of his bass guitar is rich, full and pensive. He knows exactly where he’s going – he’s calm and unhurried, and quite happy to stop and have a wee rest on the way.
The closest musical comparison would be The Return of the Durutti Column. Of course the records don’t sound exactly the same – The Return… is an electric guitar record, whereas Seeds… is a bass guitar record, and Roden’s tunes move at a much slower pace – but there’s the same sense of a musician totally in control of his instrument, able to make it express whatever feelings he wants to express; and there’s the same sense of a music which is gentle and contemplative – light years away from rock bluster. Or imagine the opening notes of Tortoise’s ‘Djed’ used as the template for an entire album – bliss!
For MP3 previews click here.
Ewan Burke
