Ism

"Ism’s sound doesn’t aim in one direction for long, and they don’t care, spraying in the general area between funk and modern jazz, with tight rhythm changes, unconventional instrumentation, and forays into mixed meter. Occasionally Hip-hop and Salsa wind up casualties of war too. The consistent strain, though, is that this is music in motion, party music that may relax its pace a bit, only so you can catch your breath for the next up-tempo romp.

Ism is a young group, but they have the experience and attitude of seasoned professionals, trained to read music. Ready to play and ready to learn, they are musicians’ musicians, without the drawback of diva tensions. Individuals have played throughout the country for years, done hard time at Disney, recorded albums everywhere and engineered them too. As their backgrounds are diverse, so their eclecticism derives in part from the writing and arranging styles of its members." - Artborne Magazine

"This is a superb recording from a superb band" - MusicFestNews.com

"I think about half of the audience for the early set from Ism were musicians, some of whom had heard Ian McLeod’s superb jazz band, other who had heard the rumors. This was my third Ism show, and in a short span this band has exploded onto the scene. This set was incredible. I am praying there is a recording I can spin on my jazz show on WMNF, because WOW.

Ian plays vibes (percussion with Flat Land). Brother Grant is the percussionist (drums with Flat Land). Mark Mayea (Ajeva) had another superb sit-in on keyboards, and Greg Jungbluth is a tremendous bass player. The set began smokin’ hot and never let up. The horns were great, and Ian is a monster on vibes. Late in the set, Vernon Suber (Holey Miss Moley, Bengali 600) and Nester Garcia jumped up to play percussion (Jimmy Rector was probably up there already), and things went Latin, and they closed with “The Chicken,” always a favorite." - MusicFestNews.com

"You know how they say that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Blessedly, that was NOT the case this night!

Several days before the event, Grant had forwarded videos of Ism performing. To that point, I had no idea what they played or did or anything. I was blown out. Here on video was a superb seven-piece jazz band with Ian on vibes and a three-horn front line. This was marvelous, concise, tight, adventurous jazz. In other words, made to order – just for me!

During the soundcheck, I got an inkling of just how amazing this was going to be when the band warmed up with Soulive’s “Steppin’.” WOW. The instant the actual set began, the soundcheck was a distant memory, as the septet rocketed ahead. My first thought was: Parker Urban and Flat Land are going to have to ‘step’ it up, because these gentlemen were killing it.

The majority of the set was comprised of originals written by the band, great compositions. Trumpeter Scott Dickinson’s contribution was “Mind Grapes,” drawing laughs from the 30 Rock fans. During a beautiful Latin tune titled “Pan in A Minor,” a young Latin couple took to the dance floor and pumped the energy in the room up even further. Dickinson, Dave Becker (tenor sax) and Clay Lucovich (trombone) all had ample solo space and sounded great played together, recalling the great bands of Art Blakey and other Blue Note and Prestige jazz stars.

Ian confided later that this project is more like a collective, since people in the band have actual jobs (shocking) and cannot always travel. You would never, ever have known there were three subs in the band this night (except for Grant McLeod, ably handling the drum kit). Grant and bassist Don Rogozinski matched up perfectly.

Ian was playing a synth vibraphone. Just think about that for a moment. And it sounded great. He and Veit Renn, a brilliant keyboard player and music producer, also worked extremely well in tandem. Ian noted that he and Renn often stepped on each other’s toes early on; those kinks have clearly been worked out. I look forward to lots more music from Ism." - MusicFestNews.com