Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Randy Armstrong — Echoes of Tomorrow
(Bandcamp UMP 9017, 2025, CD / LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-10-20

Echoes of Tomorrow Cover art

Back in the mid-to late 70s, Armstrong was one half of the world music ensemble Do’a along with the late Ken LaRoche, between them playing what at the time seemed like dozens of stringed, woodwind, and percussion instruments from around the world, creating a powerful early brand of world fusion. Their second album, Ornament of Hope, was especially noteworthy, as well as their fourth, Companions of the Crimson Colored Ark, after the group expanded to a quintet. In 1991 Do’a concluded their work and members went their separate ways. Armstrong was an accomplished jazz guitarist, and in the years since has released solo recordings as well as some with bassist Volker Nahmann from the final edition of Do’a, and their group Uno Mondo. Echoes of Tomorrow is Armstrong’s latest solo offering, a mix of solo pieces and collaborations with percussionist Jose Duque, although other musicians make appearances on this track or that. Armstrong plays acoustic and electric guitars, sitar-guitar, marimba, djembe, santoor, bass, keyboards, banjo, mandolin, and Native American flute. The album’s eleven cuts are entirely instrumental, and seamlessly blend jazz, world fusion, folk, Americana, and New Age, each piece informed in differing degrees by all of these. The mood is gentle and tasty throughout the first five tracks, which represent a commissioned piece from 2022 titled the “Choose Love Suite,” by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council of The Arts and National Endowment for the Arts as part of a theater production: Choose Love – The Musical. Particularly noteworthy is the second part, “Courage,” featuring Marty Quinn on tabla, but all showcase Armstrong’s virtuosic skills as a composer, guitarist, and arranger. With “Together,” Armstrong fuses Spanish and Caribbean styles, employing ‘mouth percussion’ and marimbas. The title track is an interpretation of a Keith Jarrett piece from the mid-1970s, while “Finlandia: Song of Peace” and “Ode to Sibelius” pay homage to the nineteenth century Finnish composer, the former an interpretation, and the latter an original piece. Perhaps the most interesting nugget here is the closer “Born in Appalachia” where Armstrong honors his West Virginia roots on acoustic guitar with banjo, mandolin, sitar-guitar and tabla supporting. Echoes of Tomorrow is Armstrong at his finest — one should definitely give this gem a listen.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Randy Armstrong

More info
http://randyarmstrong1.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-tomorrow

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.