MSM Schmidt: Arrivals (2003)

"If you don't like it, then tell us what you'd like to have changed" (an annoying remark of one of my fellow musicians sometime during the 80s).

At that time, I played drums in a band and had no clue of compositions. I was a frustrated, self-taught drummer, never had any lessons, simply playing along in two bands without knowing, how to influence the music I was supposed to be playing.

Helge Mruck was playing keyboards in one of these bands, and sure enough it was Helge, with whom I went about buying my first keyboard, the Roland D50 and who taught me the first steps. With his help, I started to learn an instrument that enabled me to express my musical ideas. During the long years of our friendship, we created an innumerable numbers of songs ... The numbers of keyboards grew, computers and samples were added. Together (with the help of the legendary Atari ST) we composed many songs and founded our own band: Walkin' on Ice. With this band, we also recorded a CD: "Finally". Our music at that time was already very fusion-oriented . I still played drums in our band, but slowly but surely composing became my passion. When Helge moved to England, the band fell apart.

Composing, free from commercial purposes and constraints, is my hobby since. But I always felt that the songs I composed were too fast and too furious for anybody to listen to, not to mention musicians playing them. However, when playing them to friends, their reactions were surprisingly positive. (Which shows: My friends are all very polite.) - - MSM Schmidt.

Tracklist:
01. Orca   
02. Dunes   
03. Afrique   
04. White Light   
05. Lullaby   
06. One 4 Ron   
07. Zebra   
08. Serious   
09. New Hope   
10. Distorted Dreams   
11. Bouquet   
12. MC   
13. Dunes Reprise
Personnel:
Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums
Brandon Fields - Alto & Soprano Sax
Mitchel Forman - Piano & Rhodes
Wolfgang Haffner - Drums
Scott Kinsey - Synths & Piano
Abe Laboriel - Bass
Will Lee - Bass
Steve Tavaglione - Tenor & Soprano Sax & Flute
Ingo Bittkau - Piano
Lutz Büchner - Tenor Sax
Uli Gadau - Acoustic Bass
Holger Larisch - Guitar
Helge Mruck - Strings
Timm Pyttlik - Trumpet
Bernd Schlott - Clarinet
Kai Thomsen - Synths & Piano
MSM Schmidt - Synths, Programming, Drums
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MSM Schmidt: Transit (2007)

Hard to believe the guy is an amateur... The strenght of this record lies in the fact that the songs are really good. Then the stellar line-up takes them to another dimension. Excellent contemporary jazz/melodic fusion album.

Tracklist:
01. Journey To Fukuoka   
02. Little Joe   
03. Country X   
04. Song for Michel (dedicated to Michel Colombier)   
05. Rizma   
06. Interlude   
07. Caroline   
08. Slow Moves   
09. X-Press (More than words Kin Sey)   
10. Sphere   
11. Falling Down   
12. Country X Acoustic version

Personnel: Vinnie Colaiuta, Kirk Covington, Wolfgang Haffner & Joel Rosenblatt (Drums); Dave Carpenter, Jimmy Earl, Ric Fierabracci, Jimmy Haslip, Will Lee & Ernest Tibbs (Bass); Scott Henderson & Mike Miller (Guitar); Mitchel Forman, David Garfield & Scott Kinsey, Kai Thomsen & MSM Schmidt (Keyboards); Brandon Fields, Steve Tavaglione & Ernie Watts (Saxophone); Rick Braun & Walt Fowler (Trumpet); Brad Dutz (Percussion); Judd Miller (EVI)

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MSM Schmidt: Destination (2009)

The composer and keyboarder MSM Schmidt (Germany) wins for his newest recording „Destination“ international renowned fusion-jazz musicians like: Mike Mainieri (Steps Ahead, Frank Zappa) on vibes, on drums Joel Rosenblatt (Bill Evans,Spyro Gyra), Simon Phillips (Toto, Mike Oldfield) und Wolfgang Haffner (Passport, Till Brönner), on bass Jimmy Haslip (Yellojackets, Bruce Hornsby), Ric Fierabracci (Chick Corea, Men at Work) Dave Carpenter (Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea), who died in 2008, on saxes Steve Tavaglione (George Benson), Tom Scott (Paul McCartney, Quincy Jones) and Brandon Fields (George Benson, Tower Of Power), on piano Mitchel Forman (Gary Burton, Pat Metheny), on guitar Dean Brown (Billy Cobham, David Sanborn), Alex Machacek (Planet X) and Chuck Loeb (Steps Ahead, Metro) and on trumpet Walter Fowler (Frank Zappa). All the players are outstanding and the sound is awesome as well! The playing throughout is of course stunning. The compositions are varied in style - sometimes jazzy, heavy, complex, and funky - but always entertaining.
It actually sounds like they were really enjoying themselves while making such a wonderful album.

Tracklist:

01 – New East «MSM Schmidt – Dean Brown» (06:38)
02 – Mr. Weasel «Tom Scott – Dean Brown» (05:59)
03 – Strangest Feelings «Brandon Fields» (05:24)
04 – Running Home «Alex Machacek» (06:15)
05 – Piano Interlud «Mitchel Forman» (01:35)
06 – 7 Grooves 2 Heaven «Dean Brown» (06:40)
07 – Hey Jimmy «Jimmy Haslip» (06:44)
08 – Final Chapter «Alex Machacekм» (06:43)
09 – Miami Revisited «C. Loeb – E. Marienthal» (05:59)
10 – Mongolian BBQ «C. Loeb – E. Marienthal» (06:14)
11 – Song For An Unknown Friend «Dave Carpenter» (07:13)
12 – D.C. «Dave Carpenter» (01:39)
13 – There Are No Rules «E. Marienthal – B. Fields» (09:32)

Personnel: Michael Guenter Schmidt (Keyboards, synths, and loops); Simon Phillips, Joel Rosenblatt & Wolfgang Haffner (Drums); Jimmy Haslip, Ric Fierabracci & Dave Carpenter (Bass); Tom Scott, Brandon Fields, Eric Marienthal (Sax); Steve Tavaglione (EWI & sax); Kai Thomsen, Scott Kinsey & Mitchel Forman (Keys); Walt Fowler (Trumpet); Mike Mainieri (Vibes); Dean Brown, Chuck Loeb, Alex Machacek & Mike Miller (Guitar)

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Human Element: ST (2011)

In the tradition of Weather Report and the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, two powerhouse pan-global bands that have greatly influenced generations of musicians around the world, Human Element is staking out a new corner of the musical map on its self-titled debut. Comprised of keyboardist Scott Kinsey (Tribal Tech), electric bassist Matthew Garrison (Zawinul Syndicate, John McLaughlin's Heart of Things, Herbie Hancock), percussionist-vocalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan (Al Di Meola's World Sinfonia, Joe Zawinul, Marc Johnson's Right Brain Patrol) and drummer Gary Novak (Chick Corea's Elektric Band), Human Element incorporates elements of fusion, funk and Armenian folk tunes into a potent 21st century brew that defies easy categorization.

Personnel: Scott Kinsey (Keyboards, Vocals) Arto Tuncboyacian (Percussion, Vocals, Effects), Gary Novak (Drums, Cymbals), Matthew Garrison (Basses, Vocals, Effects), and Special Guest John McLaughlin (Guitar).

Recorded at Gary Novak' Kronos Studio in Burbank and mixed and mastered by Kinsey in his home studio, Human Element travels from intense offerings like the 5/8 title track and Bottom of the Mirror to the Gnawan music influenced groover Essouaria and funky jams like Crazy Girl and Shake It. Tuncboyaciyan's Hi Lao (featuring a cameo by guitar hero John McLaughlin) injects a Middle Eastern flavor into the proceedings while Garrison's two tracks, Izzy and Cut, showcase his remarkable facility on the bass. For a change of pace from the whirlwind intensity, Tuncboyaciyan offers transcendent vocals on the beautiful ballad See With Your Ear and the zen-like calm of Onno, a touching ode to his late brother. Arto's son Seto also contributes some thoughtful spoken word passages on the solemn lament Think About It, which tackles the grim topic of the Armenian genocide.
Rather than being a one-off studio project with an endless cast of characters, Human Element is the sound of a band in the process of establishing its identity.
''We decided that it should definitely be a band and that a record should be just the four of us,'' says Kinsey. ''There's something special about that. We all loved Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra and we wanted that real band approach. So the four of us camped out for a couple of days and recorded all the basic tracks for this record. Everybody contributed tunes and we all had some input on how the songs were going to end up sounding. It was never really one guy's vision, even if it was his tune we were recording. That's why I really think in the end it does sound like a band record.''

And while the Zawinul influence may be apparent at times, the four kindred spirits boldly stride into distinctly new territory on Human Element. ''Language-wise, we all got so much from Joe,'' says Kinsey, ''and yet we wanted it to be different and about us. And as we got into it, I think it started to really take on an identity of its own. It spans a big area of music and yet it still sounds like one thing.

Kinsey and company hope to establish Human Element as a major force on the international festival scene, bringing their unique and powerful message to fusion and world music fans everywhere. ''The plan is to really go for it with this band,'' says Kinsey. ''We all believe in it because there's really nothing else like this band out there. Since Joe passed, there's just no one making music that's really on that type of wavelength. So there must be a lot of people out there who would like to find music that speaks to them the way that Joe's music did.''

Human Element definitely fills that void. With the release of their self-titled debut on Abstract Logix, this powerful quartet takes its first step in its musical mission.

Tracklist:

1. Introduction
2. Izzy
3. The Human Element
4. Speak with Your Eye
5. Onno
6. Hi Lao
7. Cut
8. Listen with Your Mouth
9. Essaouira
10. Crazy GIrl
11. See with Your Ear
12. Shake It!
13. Bottom of the Mirror
14. Think About It

Human Element

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