Tim Motzer

I never heard of Tim Motzer, a composer-producer-guitarist based in Philadelphia, before I got a package of his recordings from his publicist, perhaps because he's made his name in "nu soul," hip-hop, and electronica, but he's studied with jazz great Pat Martino, worked with Can drummer Jaki Leibzeit and Ornette's Prime Time bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma. Two new releases on his 1K Recordings label show that he's up to some interesting stuff.

On Descending, Motzer and German touch guitarist-composer-producer Markus Reuter render spectral soundscapes reminiscent of the ones Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays crafted on As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls. Also on board are Brit steel guitar eminence B.J. Cole (whom I saw at Caravan of Dreams with John Cale a decade or so ago) and sometime King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto.

Goldbug's The Seven Dreams is a collaboration between Motzer, bassist Barry Meehan, saxman/flutist Theo Travis, and Adrian Belew's drummer Eric Slick. "The Departure" is a taut, tough blast of fusion funk, with Motzer inhabiting the ethereal realm staked out by the early John Abercrombie; his notes and tones float, rather than hit. The 11-minute "Scratching the Third Eye" opens with burbling electronics before settling into a groove reminiscent of Miles circa Live-Evil. The equally leisurely "The Past Is Still Present" explores an Arabian mode -- imagine mid-period Pink Floyd with better musicianship.

Both discs are worthwhile, and the second is particularly recommended.