Search - Mike Glendinning :: Random Acts Of Grunge Jazz

In 2005 Mike teamed up with producer Curtis Ohlson who worked with greats like Ray Charles, Pete Escevedo, and countless others and wound up with his 3rd CD, "Random Acts of Grunge Jazz" in late 2007. The CD has guest appearences from Brian Collier on drums(Lauryn Hill, Santana) on the songs "Fade", "Dead Red Summer", and "Swine." Mick Mestek on drums (Tower Of Power) playing on "Cold Heat." Curtis Ohlson playing bass on "Fade", "Dead Red Summer","Swine","Cold Heat","Misterioso", "Home" and "Vincent." Also Christina Glendinning singing backup vocals, Deb Tjoa on fiddle, Blair Reese playing bass on Sun King, Will Rzad playing bass on "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." To add finishing touches the EP was done by James Boblak who engineered for members of the Police, Stu Hamm and other rock greats. Mike calls his music "Grunge Jazz," referring to his preference for grimy, distorted chords and complex textures blended with a sweet, melodic jazz line. His gritty, distorted guitar gives his music an avant-garage, punk-rock/grunge DIY feel, while his musical influences range from Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk to Frank Zappa. Mike admires musicians who go their own way and dare to adventure into uncharted musical territory. Besides playing a schedule of Bay Area gigs, Mike teaches rock, folk and jazz guitar to private students and at the Albany Adult School. Mark Fisher of Indie-Music.com writes about Glendinning's gap-bridging uniqueness: "[He] must be doing something right because [his] CD has quickly become an object of fascination for me, and I have certainly listened to it more than the average CD I get to review...Becareful because you could end up under its spell."