Alpha Nebula Expanded: The Monster Peace

“The visionary guitarist Tisziji Muñoz was introduced to the listening public in the late 1970s as a sideman on a now impossibly rare Pharoah Sanders album (Pharoah, India Navigation, 1977). Since then, he's collaborated with a mind-boggling array of musical luminaries...Yet, somehow, Muñoz remains a somewhat mysterious figure and one who seems almost criminally underappreciated in the jazz world-as-we-know-it. Unquestionably a virtuoso instrumentalist, Muñoz has characterized his musical exploits as just one aspect of his true focus…Because his guitar playing is a manifestation of his spiritual practice, Muñoz' music literally speaks to its audience. Its impact is visceral and very real. Summing up the music Muñoz presents on Alpha Nebula Expanded: The Monster Peace in writing is not really possible. One can only provide a few reference points. Muñoz' guitar sound is thick, sweet and heavy, recalling the glory days of early 70s ecstatic jazz-rock; the world of Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana, Bill Connors, and Allan Holdsworth at their most unhinged. However, Muñoz isn't a guitar nerd and he sounds like no one else. His backing band is jazz-oriented and totally acoustic, consisting of two bassists, two drummers and a pianist, all playing and listening at the top of their respective games. But that is only a tiny little piece of the story. There's a truly spiritual dimension to Muñoz' playing—and his band's—that takes their music well beyond the realm of simple techno-showmanship. Relative to the rest of his recorded oeuvre, Alpha Nebula Expanded: The Monster Peace is one of Tisziji Muñoz' more ecstatic and "out" recordings...Yet, to describe this music as "free jazz" would be missing the point. Harmonically adventurous and unpredictable, with melodies that appear and disappear almost randomly, there's a bobbing, flexible rhythmic backbone to the ensemble's playing throughout this 2-CD set that imparts a sense of joyous abandon while maintaining a sort of narrative thread that galvanizes one's interest. In other words, it's both "free" and "not free." It's also one of the year's most rewarding listening experiences.” –Dave Wayne, All About Jazz

Limited pressing of double CD unwrapped 4-panel eco wallet