Brilliant Fusion of Funk/Jazz/Soul & Alternative Pop/Rock
by David-D
Back in late June of 2004 I went to a musically-fashionable venue in Cambridge, MA to see a new acoustic pop duo called Ryanhood perform in a club environment—and in the process also witnessed the second-only performance of a brand new band consisting of Berklee College of Music graduates named Infinite Frequency. Like all Berklee alumni, they were very impressive, instrumentally adept, and musically innovative. All of the aesthetic qualities I had recalled about the Berklee tradition were manifest in their performance. There was an intrinsic sensuality in their playing. Infinite Frequency was musically curious. I could hear Zappa to Coltrane in that first show. You could hear influences of every type of contemporary rock, soul, and funk music, and they imparted their robust virility to the music.
Two years later sees the release of Infinite Frequency’s first full-length CD, “What If…” What (delightfully) surprised me on hearing this CD was the very high quality of the songs themselves, as well as the skill in which they are played. Infinite Frequency are individually excellent musicians and singers. The group is so strong as a team that I feel to single any one person out would be superfluous, other than to point out that the band is centered around the vision of its leader, guitarist, songwriter, and singer, Ian Franklin Wilkerson. The music, essentially a brilliant fusion of funk, alternative and pop-rock, is often genre defying. The musical groove swings seamlessly from smooth jazz to urban soul onto searing electrifying rock, with hints of acoustic ballads.
The sound of the music on this CD was intentionally recorded to sound organic, and presents the listener with a musical soundscape reminiscent of many classic jazz and soul recordings throughout the past few decades, together with a modern digital mix. In this day of over-producing, over-dubbing, pro-tools and the like, where a group’s inadequacies can be camouflaged by engineering gimmicks, here are Infinite Frequency—Live, as if you yourself were listening at their recording session. The playing is flawless, Wilkerson and his backup singers exuberant and upbeat, making for a positive, uplifting musical experience. Highly recommended from this writer’s standpoint.
