[06.03] Wow! Here is something refreshing. Thank you D. Zelonsky. This record opens with a loose, meandering rhythmic soup that instantly brings to mind Herbie Hancock's Crossings (which happens to be one of my favorite albums). Haunting organs coming in and out, loose Bossa Nova beats clank, obtuse snare rolls and cowbells a-flutter, snippets of half-baked melodies bubble from analog keyboard samples; it's free, arbitrary, detached. Blue Ramen captures that early '70s vibe of the Miles Davis school of fusion - flamboyant and groovy, surprising and challenging. Amazingly, this is not a sextet band made up of the best musicians of the period—this is all one person and a machine.

The most wonderful thing about Blue Ramen is that it doesn't sound like it was sequenced on a computer. Yet, this is still an "electronic" record: there is that stitched together quality, the sounds are cut up, the bass drum is deep, the samples are sharp. The samples capture a "human" feel, with sax, keyboards and percussion snippets that were obviously played at some point in the distant past by humanoids. The brilliance of this record is the way that it was put together—the designed looseness of it all. Sometimes the beats don't line up perfectly, sometimes it gets a bit too busy (there is nothing minimal about this record) but all in all this is a great listen and earns a spot in my jazz collection. Who said the beats have to line up perfectly? This is jazz!

If you are not a fan of free jazz, Herbie Hancock or soundtrack music, I would stay away from this record. If you are a fan, I would highly recommend it. —Nyles