Solar Wind

Solar Wind is a Los Angeles based band, whose primary musical focus is instrumental Contemporary Jazz. Other musical influences such as NAC (New Adult Contemporary), New Age and Fusion, blend to make Solar Wind's sound the essence of Contemporary Jazz. Solar Wind is headed by bassist Sean Mason, whose clean, technical style creates a unique approach in this genre. The debut CD, "Grand Tour Alignment," was produced by Sean, and co-produced by guitarist Eric Robson.

Mason's electric bass is the dominant force of this CD, using the instrument as both foundation and melody on several cuts. With a mix of thumping, plucking, picking and strumming, the bassist sets the pace for Solar Wind's contemporary instrumental collage. While Mason's flair for colorful grooves and melodies allow a handful of the nine tunes to fit comfortably in the smooth jazz pocket, the album also features more intense funk, blistering electric jazz fusion, a bit of mystical new age, and on the introductory title track, an ode to dramatic film scoring.

Mason and Robson bring it all alive with the help of popular smooth jazz saxophonist Eric Marienthal, electric guitarist Frank Gambale and drummer Gary Novak, all of whom were members of Chick Corea's powerhouse Elektric Band. Solar Wind currently has national distribution through Chartmaker Jazz Records and has been receiving airplay nationwide since the release of "Grand Tour Alignment" in July of 1999.

THE REVIEWS ARE IN: "a free form breath of fresh air, the group has a keen sense of how to craft a catchy melody." Jazziz, "definitely meets the criteria of finding radio acceptance at the current NAC format. Quite an impressive recording effort." Music Connection, "a burning session of contemporary jazz." LA Jazz Scene. "This is great sounding material." Bassics. "Boasting almost equal parts power fusion, ambient effects and gentle acoustics….consistently engaging……a solid effort". Jazz Times.

Mason and Robson are pro-active in the marketing of Solar Wind. Their goal is to shape Solar Wind into an interactive musical entity, expanding their musical stature to include multi-media, especially on the Internet. "Our primary focus is and always will be music," Mason says. "While it is important to evolve musically, we realize that creativity is boundless and limitless as long as there is inspiration, and multi-media encourages creative expansion. The whole idea behind Solar Wind is sight, sound and imagination. Musically, we always play it straight from the heart, and then put it out to see how our feelings transfer to those who listen," he adds. "Grand Tour Alignment is just the first step towards realizing our goal of reaching our potential as creators and artists." Bold and innovative, daring yet smooth and irresistible, and orbiting soon at radio and retail, Solar Wind invites you on a musical journey you won't soon forget.