Patrick Moraz - Change of Space (2009)

There is no denying Patrick Moraz in the annals of progressive music. Born in Switzerland, Moraz studied music at an early age and would eventually join Yes for the Relayer album in 1974. From there he embarked on a solo career that would have him release some classic progressive albums in the 70s. When progressive music started on a downturn in the 1980s Moraz joined the Moody Blues for a few albums. His new album, Change of Space, is his first album in five years and fifteenth overall. Apparently Moraz wanted to show his progressive side with this album. The question is did he succeed? If his goal was to create a varied album mixing jazz, a healthy dose of pop and a few progressive numbers I would say he did. I will say from the start this is not all progressive music, in fact, far from it, but that does not make for a bad album. There is no doubting the musicianship of all involved. The keyboard playing is excellent, as to be expected, and there are plenty of electric guitar solos spread throughout these nine songs and sixty minutes of music. The list of keyboards Moraz plays is truly impressive, forty-six to be exact, so you can expect a variety of keyboard sounds found all over this disc.

The first two tracks are an exercise in 80s pop, bearing a slight resemblance to what Alan Parsons or Toto was releasing at the time. The album begins with the tribal rhythms of "Peace in Africa", complete with pleasant harmonies and chant-like vocals. "Change of Space" starts with atmospheric keys and soon turns into a poppy affair, with pulsating bass, full background vocals and a driving beat. This will not be for everyone, but those who like pop music will likely enjoy this. What saves these songs for me is the impressive play of Moraz, exhibiting the classiness we have come to expect.

The first signs of progressive music can be found in the "Sonique Prinz Suit", three movements of lush keyboards and searing electric leads (see Movt. 2) and dissonant rhythms to create a dramatic piece of music. The progressive/jazz rock of "One Day in June" boasts plenty of melody and an outstanding keyboard solo. This is one that will want to stick in your head long after listening. The album ends in fine fashion with the lush atmospherics and ambient textures of "Stellar Rivers & Streams of Lucid Dreams" and the dreamy soundscapes that is "Alien Spaces", the song title befitting the music perfectly. This is classic Moraz all the way. ~ Review by Jon Neudorf

Track Listing

01. Peace In Africa (4:53)
02. Change Of Space (8:19)
03. Sonique Prinz Suite: Movement 1 (2:16)
04. Sonique Prinz Suite: Movement 2 (2:39)
05. Sonique Prinz Suite: Movement 3 (5:25)
06. One Day In June (7:28)
07. Cum Spiritu (4:53)
08. The Power Of Emotion (6:01)
09. Stellar Rivers & Streams Of Lucid Dreams: Movements 1 - 3 (6:37)
10. Stellar Rivers & Streams Of Lucid Dreams: Movement 4 (5:31)
11. Alien Spaces (5:52)

Produced by Patrick Moraz

Line-up

• Patrick Moraz (Refugee, Yes, The Moody Blues, Mainhorse, Vímana): keys (all), Moog solo (1, 2), bass synth (6), synth bass (9/10), vocal chant (1), percussion (1), drums programmation (3-5), Roland AXIS solos (4)
• Don Adey: lead vocals (1), chant vocals (1)
• Alex Ligertwood: lead vocals (2, 8)
• Nicol Mecerova: soprano lead vocal (10), additional vocals (1, 2, 8), chant vocals (1), group vocals (2, 8)
• Bunny Brunel: electric basses (1, 2, 7, 8), fretless bass solo (2, 7, 9/10), piccolo electric bass (9/10), chant vocals (1)
• Kazumi Watanabe: lead guitar (1), guitar solo (1)
• Michael Tovar: rhtyhm guitar (1)
• Alex Acuña: acoustic percussion (1)
• John Wackerman: drums (1, 2, 9/10), midi drums (1, 2, 9/10)
• Ronnie Ciago: drums (6), Remo world drums (6)
• Mark Craney: drums (8)
• Janis Liebhart, Wendy McKenzie, Naomi Starr, Jill Meschkle: additional vocals (1, 2, 8), chant vocals (1), group vocals (2, 8)

Notes

Guest include Alex Ligertwood (ex-Santana, ex-Brian Auger), John Wackerman (Chad Wackerman's brother, ex-Kazumi Watanabe, ex-Lindsay Buckingham), Bunny Brunel (ex-Chick Corea, ex-Kazumi Watanabe), Kazumi Watanabe (worked with Bill Bruford), Alex Acuña (ex-Weather Report, ex-Joe Zawinul), Nicol Mecerova (ex-Bunny Brunel, ex-Herbie Hancock) and Wendy McKenzie (ex-The Moody Blues). Voiceprint's promo for the album erroneously described it as having been recorded over the previous two years in the US, but in a Mar 2009 interview, Moraz described it as "a collection of songs and instrumental pieces of never released material which I worked on, composing, recording, mixing and "polishing" over a period of about 14 years." In 1989, Moraz had been working on a follow-up to Human Interface. At the same time, he was renting his Los Angeles studio out to Watanabe, who was recording his solo album Kilowatt with Brunel, Wackerman, Ligertwood, Acuña, Wayne Shorter (ex-Miles Davis, ex-Weather Report; sax) and others. These musicians, minus Shorter, played on sessions for Moraz, while Moraz also played on Kilowatt. The deal with Cinema Records fell through, but some material from these sessions appears here, namely the tracks "Peace in Africa", "Change of Space", "Cum Spiritu", "The Power of Emotion" and "Stellar Rivers & Streams of Lucid Dreams". "Cum Spiritu" was begun by Moraz earlier: he had previously composed the piece and recorded all his parts in London, with Brunel then writing and adding a fretless bass part in this period.

The remaining pieces were recorded in the late 1990s/early 2000s in Orlando, FL. The basis for "One Day in June" was a 1998 session with Ciago on drums, which Moraz then added to. The "Sonique Prinz" suite and "Alien Space" were recorded entirely by Moraz. (HP, 14 Jun 10)





Many thanks to the original uploader: Masha Kirova