“If this isn’t where jazz is headed, then it’s probably going in the wrong direction.”
DR. MiNT
Voices In The Void / Beyond The Void
★★★★ –DownBeat Magazine
"DR. MiNT leaves no forward stone unturned... Voices In The Void is consistently stimulating and ambitious, even when it devolves—rarely—into cacophony."
–Carlo Wolff, DownBeat Magazine
★★★★ –All About Jazz
"The band generates high-heat and integrates memorable melodies...a fitting sound track for the Sun's plasma dissipating into the solar system... Play it Loud!"
–Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
Daniel Rosenboom - Trumpets
Gavin Templeton - Saxophones
Alexander Noice - Guitar and EFX
Sam Minaie - Bass and EFX
Caleb Dolister - Drums
★★★★ –Audiophile Audition
There is both a down-to-earth and interstellar drive to the frantic and skittering “Down to One.” Noice adds riffs reminiscent of late-1970s rock, while Dolister and Minaie provide a drum ‘n’ bass-influenced rhythmic bent. “Down to One” is full-on, 21st century jazz which spirals from metal to jazz to neo-fusion. The tune rises and rises to a crescendo, only to come to a climatic standstill. Noice’s roiling and blistering guitar infuses the shortest cut, the loud, enigmatic “A Bird, an Assassin,” which is evocative of material issued by the RareNoise imprint. Others, such as the four-minute “Nymbists,” surge with knotty details which are skillfully intertwined amid conversant and unusual configurations, a balancing act which DR. MiNT is superbly good at accomplishing. On the flip side, the group can also easily flit into warm, comfortable tones, such as the down-tempo “Empyrean,” where minimalism and delicate filigrees float across the nearly three-minute piece. “Empyrean,” as the title implies, has an ethereal quality. DR. MiNT conclude with another astute, atmospheric number, the pocket-sized 2:41 “Anathema,” where Templeton’s slowly-moving sax and Rosenboom’s drawn-out notes have a graceful elucidation and economy. Whereas some bands which gravitate toward full improvisation tend to be chaotic and too outward-bound, DR. MiNT always maintains a recognizable form, or organized shape, and furnish characteristics which listeners can find exhilaratingly exuberant, while DR. MiNT never loses sight of jazz’s rich background."
–Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition
★★★★ –Free Jazz Blog
"Voices In the Void is a brisk, addictive entry in DR. MiNT’s catalog of space-time explorations, revealing its many connected ideas upon repeat listens."
–Lee Rice Epstein, Free Jazz Blog
Photograph by Eron Rauch.
BEST NEW JAZZ on BANDCAMP
"It’s in those passages that conflict becomes cohesion—not unlike lightning setting aglow the underbelly of storm clouds—and that the album reaches a plateau that other, similar projects fail to attain. This is an album that could get tagged as post-jazz more than modern jazz, but the wild creativity at play suggests that the subtext to the quartet’s decisions was to annihilate any qualities that would lead to categorization."
–Dave Sumner, Bandcamp
"For those who want things not quite free and perhaps just a touch punk, Voices in the Void is the album folks are looking for."
—Anthony Dean-Harris, Nextbop.com
"A playful, tense, and spirited exploration of untrodden paths in both rock and jazz. Ambitious and full of urgency, these eight tracks are both an intense intellectual workout, as well as just plain fun."
–Mike Borella, Avant Music News
"...the soloing is more than good and the attitude is through the roof. “Down To One”...is a frantic Frankenstein of Coltrane’s “Countdown” and Van Halen’s “Eruption.” Drum ‘n’ bass stuttering beats brings a 21st century twist to this timeless thrill of chops gliding over an extended form... If this isn’t where jazz is headed, then it’s probably going in the wrong direction."
–S Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews
Kingsize Sessions
DR. MiNT is a veritable lightning rod for intuitive music. Their compositions are "100% spontaneously created," and their brand new album, "Kingsize Sessions," captures everything the band has become known to channel. Often associated with heavier rock, metal, or electronic musical styles, it’s easy to forget that the music that is being played, is always being played for the first time.
The band has previously released three full-length concept albums: "Ritual" (2013), "A New Symphony" (2008), and "Vision and Nightmares" (2008). Based in both Los Angeles and New York, this bi-coastal experimental rock band embraced long-form, uncut, and unedited recording, often completing an album in a single take. With "Kingsize Sessions," DR. MiNT focuses their “spontaneous composition” ethos on short, punchy, and concise themes, bending soundscapes, twisting grooves, and exploring some dark territory.
The band is Daniel Rosenboom (trumpets), Gavin Templeton (saxophones), Alex Noice (electric guitar and FX), Sam Minaie (electric bass and FX), and Caleb Dolister (drums and laptop). DR. MiNT formed in the studio in 2007. Several band members even met for first time just moments before hitting record and capturing a purely improvised record. That first recording was later released as “Visions and Nightmares" (pfMENTUM CD049), and was intentionally left uncut, and unedited.
Initially, the group embraced pure long-form improvisation. But after two completely improvised albums, the idea of working out improvised composition came into play. The band began to start a performance with a blank sheet of music paper, notating melodies and themes in real-time, and then conducting various “composed-on-the-spot” melodies and sections. This allowed the group to collectively focus improvisation on thematic material in addition to abstract improvisations.
This is apparent on Kingsize Sessions, when you hear the horns playing synchronized melodies. Each melody was composed and notated on the spot, during the take.
DR. MiNT continues to maintain their dedication to spontaneity by leaving these short tunes unedited and essentially untouched. However, a few new experiments on Kingsize Sessions include "Kingsize Strut," which featured an immediate second pass of both drums and bass, and "Mirror," in which the whole band improvised a second pass against a previously recorded track played in reverse.
Kingsize Sessions is an album full of character and exploration. Even with all of it’s unique qualities, it fully embodies the evolutionary direction of a band that identifies itself with attitude, fire, abstraction, and ferocity in improvisation.
Daniel Rosenboom - trumpets
Gavin Templeton - woodwinds
Alex Noice - electric guitar and FX
Sam Minaie - electric bass and FX
Caleb Dolister - drums and FX
Sound engineered by John Baffa
Mixed by John Baffa and Daniel Rosenboom
Mastered by Sam Minaie
Artwork by Eron Rauch
© Daniel Rosenboom Music (ASCAP) 2013
Ritual
Ritual was 100% spontaneously composed and recorded live in two continuous takes on October 27, 2008 in a performance at the Roy O. Disney Music Hall. It is a concept album intended to heard as a single continuous listening experience.
Released January 28, 2013
Daniel Rosenboom - Trumpet and Piccolo Trumpet
Gavin Templeton - Alto and Soprano Saxophones
Alex Noice - Electric Guitar and FX
Sam Minaie - Electric Bass and FX
Caleb Dolister - Drums
Sound Engineered by John Baffa
Mixed and Mastered by John Baffa and DR. MiNT at TV Tray Studio, Simi Valley, CA
Album Artwork by Eron Rauch (www.eronrauch.com)
All music © Daniel Rosenboom Music (ASCAP)
All rights reserved.
SNP Records
www.snprecords.com
A New Symphony
This work is 100% improvisation. Recorded in a single live take in a concert given at Roy O. Disney Music Hall at California Institute of the Arts on February 12, 2008. There is no editing on this album.
Released October 1, 2008
Daniel Rosenboom - Trumpets
Gavin Templeton - Alto and Soprano Saxophones
Alex Noice - Electric Guitar and FX
Sam Minaie - Electric Bass and FX
Caleb Dolister - drums
Sound Engineered by John Baffa
Mixed and Mastered by John Baffa and Daniel Rosenboom, TV Tray Studio, Simi Valley, CA
Album Artwork by Daniel Rosenboom and Gavin Templeton
All music © Daniel Rosenboom Music (ASCAP) 2008
All rights reserved.
SNP Records
Visions and Nightmares
This recording marks the first meeting of DR. MiNT. "Visions and Nightmares" and "Apocalyptica" are two entirely improvised suites that were recorded in two consecutive takes on August 26, 2007. This album is unabridged, uncut, and unedited.
Released February 12, 2008
Daniel Rosenboom - Trumpet and Piccolo Trumpet
Gavin Templeton - Alto Saxophone
Alex Noice - Electric Guitar and FX
Sam Minaie - Electric Bass and FX
Caleb Dolister - Drums
Sound Engineered by John Baffa, TV Try Studio
Mixed and Mastered by John Baffa and Daniel Rosenboom
Album Artwork by Daniel Rosenboom
All music © Daniel Rosenboom Music (ASCAP)
All rights reserved.
pfMENTUM