A soulful blend of African fiddle, talking drums, and jazz. Imaginary Homeland weaves lyrical melodies and percussive grooves into a potent blend of African and American traditions.
Jazz composer David Rogers left his Missouri roots and his music conservatory training in the States to spend two years living in the home of master drummers in rural Ghana. Living in a thatch hut through dust storms and rain seasons, he studied the native drum language and history of the talking drum.
When he returned, he formed Imaginary Homeland with three other American musicians whose combined experience stretches from Ghana and Uganda to the hills of West Virginia and downtown New York. Marlene Rice's soaring violin and Matt Pavolka's acoustic bass find the string sound in each of these traditions, while percussionist Mark Stone drives the rhythm.
In their new CD, JUMP FOR GEORGE, Imaginary Homeland finds vivid connections between these and nearer American musical roots. The results will delight music lovers looking for a fresh sound rooted in the traditions of both Africa and the Americas.
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"With praises to a dozen genres and fealty to none, this quartet is creating an original vocabulary that endorses both jazz and folk as equal partners in their own musical nation." - Dirty Linen Magazine
"The synthesis of jazz and world music is nothing new, of course, but… Rogers' pieces could only have been conjured via one thoroughly invested in the multiple traditions being considered-think Coltrane's relationship to Indian music and its spiritual birthplace as a reference point." - Global Rhythm Magazine
"An original, yet somehow deeply rooted, musical sound." -- CDRoots
"Combines the best of contemporary jazz with West African instruments and rhythms... makes you want to get up and dance!" -- Ann Arbor Observer
