“Pure, upbeat, delightful, and enjoyable contemporary instrumentals in melodic and pleasant harmonies.” — NEW AGE VOICE As a follow-up to his 2002 EverSound release “Shadow Crossing,” Curtis Macdonald’s “Everlasting” is a collection of fresh, beautiful new compositions that weave a tapestry of new age, nu-jazz, and adult contemporary instrumentals into a unique sound. With bouncy, pulsating grooves and inspiring arrangements, “Everlasting” puts the listener in the right mood no matter what the environment.

Imagine you are taking a journey through rain soaked streets, coastal cruises with the wind in your hair and a chill in the air. The mood of Curtis Macdonald's Dreamliner inspires this scenario achieving it's sentiment as a soundtrack for great escapes and reflective romanticism. From the opening track to the final hypnotic and hyper-minimalist pulse of Hollyhock, this CD delivers what could quite be the next step in contemporary Chill/New-Age instrumentals. Swimming delays and textured synths surround humable melodies supported by acoustic piano. At many times just the groove transcends into the consciousness and creates the positive momentum we all like to take us through the day.
If you are looking for a CD with that creates an atmosphere of sophistication for an event or an intimate rondeviou, Dreamliner takes off and always lands in the right spot.

While STRATA, the first collaboration between Steve Roach and Robert Rich, sought to peel away the substratum layers of the inner consciousness, SOMA attempts to reconcile those emotions with the outer world through a wondrous, gripping corpus of sound. Utilizing a great assortment of synths, samplers, didgeridus, clay pots, rainsticks, rocks, ceramics, talking drums, guitars, flutes, and programmed drums, Roach and Rich perform a stunning series of lively, aural mosaics that are like musical puzzle boxes with hundreds of oddly colored pieces. It is as if they tore up the veneer of the desert itself and constructed these sounds out of the earth's natural very fiber. "Nightshade" begins with some prehistoric-sounding synths, then gradually builds along a rhythmic foundation of rainsticks and sequencers. Like the best free jazz improvisers, Roach and Rich intuitively communicate their separate identities into one collective whole

This is music that reminds me of what classic 1970's Smooth Jazz wrapped up into today's electronica but not catered as acid jazz would sound like. This is the essence of Chill! It's friendly with a very West Coast attitude. Harkings of old pros like Bob James and Jeff Lorber float into the melodies and creative solos of Curtis Macdonald's Grandcascade, a must have for the cocktail by the sea crowd. The laid back R&B grooves, the clever synth arrangements and keyboard musicianship offers a full packaged collection for the hip and sophisticated. Perfect for a Weekend Getaway!

"Shadow Crossing" is one of those recordings that are a rare find. It is an elegant, simmering blend of new age and smooth jazz... a fave combo of mine. I wish more records were done like this!

Curtis has a way of establishing a subtle electronic groove or foundation for his piano, which often times handles the lead role within his original songs. It is nothing like I have ever heard and I find myself wanting more.

Rather than spending too much time-sharing my enthusiasm for this release... I encourage you to consider "Shadow Crossing" for your music collection. If you enjoy smooth new agey jazz... you won't regret this investment! ~ from Amazon