Album Review of
Deeper Imaginings

Written by Robert Silverstein
December 10, 2019 - 4:29pm EST
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Renowned for his impeccable instrumental albums, composer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Adams reunited with his music collaborator Elizabeth Geyer for the 2019 CD release of Deeper Imaginings. On the long-awaited follow-up to the duo’s 2015 album Imaginings, these two gifted musicians pick up from their last album left off. Although considered under the instrumental New Age banner, on the eleven track Deeper Imaginings, Paul and Elizabeth have crafted a modern day music classic that also brings in elements of World Music, Americana and Native American music along with elements of free jazz and even experimental progressive rock. Commenting on the variety of sounds on what is ostensibly being called a New Age album, Paul says, “I wanted the instrumentation to be what one is not used to hearing together. For example dobro, Native American flute, electric sitar, Bansuri flute... This integration included a number of the instruments that were made by myself when I was a luthier, including guitar, electric sitar and dulcimer. Their unique timbre helped to allow the work to gel on its own coloration.” As mentioned, Paul’s talented collaborator here, Elizabeth Geyer is a renowned jazz musician from Australia. Bringing her skills on piano, vocals and flugelhorn to the sound of Deeper Imaginings, Ms. Geyer is a perfect collaborator to expand upon Paul’s wide-ranging sonic approach. Paul’s most recent release, 2019’s Deeper Imaginings is being compared to albums by Peter Gabriel, Paul Winter and Ravi Shankar and other World Music artists. There is a definite ethereal and meditative nature to the Deeper Imaginings album and there’s also a wide range of gifted musicians to aid Paul and Elizabeth, including a surprising contribution on a pair of tracks, from founding Gentle Giant guitarist Gary Green along with Alp Akmaz on Balabon (Duduk), India’s Pravin Godkhindi (Bansuri flute) and David Hoffman, a former trumpet soloist for Ray Charles. After playing the album a good number of times, one thing that stands out is the organic feel of the overall sound on Deeper Imaginings. Some musicologists have spoken about the album’s approach of Eastern music meeting Western music and there is a lot of truth about that. The mix of Paul’s electric sitar, guitars, occasional spoken word poetry and Native American flutes with Ms. Geyer’s deeply resonant flugelhorn, vocals and elegant piano sounds, colored by her background in both jazz and ethnomusicology, gives this captivating album an ambitious and very cool sounding groove. Steeped in the traditions of Native American music and meditative New Age as well late-night beat-jazz, Deeper Imaginings is clearly an album created in the Global Groove spirit of 21st century instrumental music.