Galaxy Lounge: Reviews

Despite the fact that writer, arranger and producer Jon Grindstaff has spent the last twenty years creating music for commercials on radio and television, he has now emerged with his first solo project delivered under the apt guise of Galaxy Lounge. The result, ‘Welcome To The Party’, is a delicious blend of smooth jazz and lounge music with tracks that have already caught the attention of the syndicated radio show ‘Chill With Mindi Abair’ as well as smooth jazz stations across the USA.

The collection draws a clear distinction between cuts that are more ‘lounge’ orientated and those of a contemporary jazz flavour. Indeed, whilst the distinctly ethereal ‘Voices’ offers a wonderful snapshot of how top notch chill should sound, the flip side is the warmly inviting ‘Warm Night, Ocean Breeze’ that would not sound out of place on an album from Paul Hardcastle. Although with tunes such as ‘No Secret Agent’ and ‘Climb’ there are some niche ‘chill’ numbers that will appeal to the genre’s real aficionados, the massively accessible ‘City Lights’ is a clear invitation for those new to ‘chill’ to ‘get with the program’.

Grindstaff weaves an evocative Gregorian style chant into the atmospheric ‘Hypnotocracy’ and while the compulsively mid tempo ‘Midnight Downtown’ has a luscious horn driven hook coupled with some sensational production touches the intensity that characterizes ‘Nightbreak’ is all about rhythm underpinned by a pounding beat. This brassy swagger is replicated by the feisty ‘Spunky’ and the way in which the song barrels along is something to behold. However it proves to be nothing in comparison to the high octane title cut that is quite literally ‘off the chain’ and in stark contrast to the delightfully mellow ‘Blessed Rain’.

Over the years a plethora of contemporary jazz artists have, each in their own way, tipped a hat to the great Wes Montgomery and here the outstandingly smooth ‘Heading Wes’ proves to be Grindstaff’s own tribute to the legendary guitar ace. It is without doubt the CD’s best track and provides one more reason why ‘Welcome to the Party’ is one to watch.

The debut project from Galaxy Lounge features a luxurious soundscape of rich, melodic, loungey and jazzy instrumentals, some laced with sparkling vocalizing that range from soulful to sultry. WELCOME TO THE PARTY is the perfect balance of Smooth Jazz and Lounge music… think Paul Hardcastle meets Moby. At the helm is, former New York City composer and arranger, Jon Grindstaff, whose nearly thirty-year career has offered him the opportunity to work with some of the best musicians and singers in the world and to compose in a wide variety of styles… recording everything from Japanese folk to full orchestration and everything in between. Now residing in Pennsylvania with his wife Kit, Jon is busting out of a five-year hiatus with this classy, cosmopolitan collection of sophisticated songs that celebrate and combine the spacious vibe of Chill with the tastefulness of Jazz. Galaxy Lounge has everything it needs to make a big impression on these two popular, Global genres. Join the party and add WELCOME TO THE PARTY to your personal playlist! ~SANDY SHORE

During his time in New York Jon Grindstaff, the creator of the project Galaxy Lounge, performed on gigs around the city. As bass player he jammed in diverse bands, while his day job was writing for commercials. Since more than twenty years, he worked as a composer and arranger in New York, creating music for television and radio commercials.

Since 2002 Jon lives in Pennsylvania, where he was now infected by the music bug again. In 2008 Jon released his debut album Welcome To The Party and received high acclaims by the usual suspects. The album is still on spin on many syndicated radio shows. According to the liner notes Jon has written, arranged, played, programmed, recorded and mixed all songs. So Welcome To The Party is a one-man-show.

Voices celebrates a festival of jungle pipes and vocals. The lead theme is performed by a magic trumpet and recognized by bass and keyboards.

Climb is joking with bluesy vocals and peppers the air with keyboards and horns. The arrangement is simply perfect and reveals Jon's great experience. It's amazing what a single person can create in his home studio.

Heading Wes is Jon's homage to the late Wes Montgomery, the idol of a generation of guitarists. Although the guitar samples are crispy and clean, the approach to guitar sound modeling and guitar part performing cannot reach the articulation and expression of real guitars. However Jon did a great job under these conditions.

Nightbreak is a dynamic tune with a big bunch of samples, loops and everything possible in today's electronic equipment. Ready for take off to the next dance floor. When you listen to Midnight Downtown, that's not Michael Cretu's Enigma. But it's certainly the same flow and groove like Brian Auger's Green Onion. Music ideas are carved in our heads. Jon lets them out.

No Secret, Agent might be the score of a new James Bond movie. Great tension! City Lights is a reprise of the first tune. Conga beats, dark bass and electronic sounds build a fantastic music picture with impressing horn arrangements.

Spunky offers a jamming shuffle with a huge horn impact. Jon showcases his brilliant piano skills. Why not some more improvisations? Just let it go. Warm Night, Ocean Breeze is without a doubt inspired by Art of Noise's Robinson Crusoe. I cannot withstand this captivating theme.

Hypnotocracy walks anew on Michael Cretu's path with a mesmerizing Tablas shuffle beat. Besides the medieval choral swing synth vocals and strings. It's really fascinating what the world of samples offers today. Take for example the pot drums from Africa introducing into Blessed Rain. Strings and horns conjure an adventurous atmosphere of secrets.

Welcome To The Party is the final exposure of a complete big band in the style of Lou Vega's Mambo Nr. 9. I love it!

My kudos to Jon Grindstaff's debut album. This journey into smooth jazz and lounge is really refreshing and hip.

Jon Grindstaff beleefde zijn eerste muzikale ervaring toen hij twaalf was.

Toen begon hij namelijk in Illinois viool te leren. Muziek veranderde alles, hij werd weggeblazen door de klassieke meesters Bach, Beethoven en Mozart. Later speelde hij enkele seizoenen in het St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, in het SIU Edwardsville University Orchestra, en leerde zelfs basgitaar spelen. Na zijn studies begon hij pop en jazz te spelen in nachtclubs, en deed in enkele studio’s sessiewerk als muzikant, componist en arrangeur. Maar op zijn vijfentwintigste verhuisde hij naar New York City, waar stilaan het live werk uitdoofde en Jon zich op studiowerk richtte. Hij schreef voor radio en tv-commercials en kwam in aanraking met een breed gamma aan muziekstijlen (van Japanse folk tot symfonisch orkest) en artiesten, waaronder Dr. John, Kiss, Miss Piggy en zelfs The Village People. In 2002 verkoos hij de rust van Pennsylvania. En nu na jaren van inactiviteit keert hij terug met een persoonlijk project gebaseerd op traditionele en smooth jazz tunes, maar omhuld met een ontspannen lounge jasje. Het merendeel is uiteraard integraal instrumentaal, maar sommige tunes vertonen soulvolle tot sensuele gezangen. SmoothJazz.com omschrijft hem als een mengeling tussen Paul Hardcastle en Moby. Gesofisticeerde songs die je een chill effect bezorgen. Beste tracks: ‘Voices’, ‘Heading Wes’, ‘Warm Night, Ocean Breeze’, en de titeltrack. “Great party, Jon! Don’t stop the music!”

Patrick Van de Wiele ♪♪♪½

El último y más reciente proyecto musical del compositor neoyorquino Jon Grindstaff se engloba bajo el nombre de Galaxy Lounge. Su nueva producción discográfica se titula genéricamente “Welcome To The Party” y se compone de 12 temas inéditos que estamos seguros que crearán una atmósfera musical especial y distinta. Y es que Jon Grindstaff es un experto en la recreación de sonidos dentro del género musical del Chill, Lounge, Funk o Acid Jazz; sonidos que no hay que olvidar que continúan muy pujantes en ciudades como New York, Miami o Los Angeles. “Welcome To The Party” se inicia con el tema “Voices” y que significa una excelente tarjeta de presentación de lo que se nos viene encima. Batería, percusión y sonidos vocales junto a los teclados y sintetizadores de Jon Grindstaff que crean una atmósfera musical no antes escuchada. En el álbum encontraremos composiciones como “Heading Wes”, “City Lights”, “Spunky” o “Nightbreak” donde el común denominador será la interposición de sonidos bien construidos que junto al componente vocal, la composición adquiere originalidad única. Todos los temas que componen “Welcome To The Party” son compuestos, arreglados, interpretados y programados por Jon Grindstaff. Por lo que respecta al responsable del proyecto Galaxy Lounge hay que decir que tiene una experiencia musical más que probada. Sus inicios en la música arrancan con estudios musicales clásicos que comienzan a la temprana edad de 12 años y con el manejo del violín. Así, sus influencias musicales son absolutamente clásicas; Bach, Beethoven y Mozart es la música que consume Jon Grindstaff. Su carrera musical se la debe a su profesora de música. Según afirma el propio Grindstaff, “a Linda Beane le debo todo en lo que a música se refiere”. De hecho gracias a Linda, Jon Grindstaff tuvo la oportunidad de tocar en la St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra bajo la dirección de Leonard Slatkin. Durante aquellos años, Jon Grindstaff comienza a fijarse en géneros musicales que se alejan de lo clásico, de esta forma comienza a tocar el bajo. Durante sus años de estudiante logró tocar el bajo en la banda del High School y durante los fines de semana tocaba e infinidad de locales. Será en la ciudad de St. Louis donde se inicia en la música Pop y Jazz como músico de sesión. Es también en esta época en la que se interesa en labores de producción y arreglos musicales. Posteriormente se traslada a la ciudad de New York donde se dedica a la composición de música para comerciales. Al mismo tiempo toca el bajo para diferentes bandas de la ciudad en conocidos locales y clubes de Jazz. Se centra en la actividad de músico de sesión y durante más de dos décadas trabaja como compositor y arreglista en la ciudad de New York creando infinidad de música para programas de televisión y radio. Después de un intervalo de cinco años y tras abandonar la ciudad de New York e instalarse en el estado de Pennsylvania, Jon Grindstaff regresa al panorama musical con su excelente trabajo “Welcome To The Party”.