The Reign of Kindo
A progressive jazz group among the pop/screamo/teen rock groups on indie labels – what a nice surprise. The Reign of Kindo reaches listener ears from Buffalo, New York, a city that consistently amazes those who visit. With dozens of music and cultural venues, this upstate New York city has spawned some talented and interesting individuals.
Reign of Kindo’s new Web site lists Joseph Secchiaroli (guitar/vocals), Steven Padin (drums/vocals), Kelly Sciandra (piano/rhodes/trumpet), Michael Carroll (guitar/sizes) and Jeffery Jarvis (bass/vocals) as the factors in this jazz equation. The group shows its sense of humor by listing Nintendo, winners, food and wild animals as major influences. Could be worse!
From the first keyboard notes of "Hard To Believe" on the band’s EP (One Eleven Records 2007) jazz and piano aficionados will be pleased. Then, to paraphrase another song, bring in the horns. Nice change of pace in the middle stages of the tune – energy without being overbearing. As one music critic likes to say, this is very tasty music. The vocals fit, which is not an easy thing to do in progressive music such as this. There is even a taste of pop/easy listening done with style.
"Needle and Thread" has some interesting guitar interplay at the beginning, with Sciandra’s piano moves almost pulling the listener’s attention away from the strings. But there is no competition here, so much as there is young guys just getting started. "Just Wait" is aptly titled. I’d expect to hear much more from this quintet.
Tags: indie, independent music, music, the reign of kindo, indie music
The Reign of Kindo is jazz like I have not heard before. I can hear the jazzy sounds, yet also get a great sense of pop breaking through at the same time. I enjoy jazz, yet do not submerse myself into jazz the way some do. I could really see myself groove’n to The Reign of Kindo on a stormy night with some upbeat citrus candles a lit.
“Just Wait” was the first song that I listed to of this band. I love the Jazz feel they have, but the style is a little bit more than just that. The Reign of Kindo with its unique Jazz sound and interesting name is something that everyone should give a try at least once. The vocals are excellent and his voice is very easy on the ears, which is important to me.
Although I too do not listen to a lot of Jazz this could be something that I would listen to more frequently then first thought.
I really like this kind of jazz. I’m not a big fan of the genre, though I do have a few Sade cds lying here and there. These guys have a nice, refreshing sound though, the type that makes them acceptable in both clubs as well as elegant dinner parties. This is a very nice find, and something I can definitely mellow out to. I enjoy Needle and Thread the most.
I’m really vibing with this band. I’ve honestly never been a big fan of jazz unless it was mixed with some rock ( think Pink Floyd), and that sound is just so hard to pull off. These guys seem to do it almost flawlessly.
It’s an odd tidbit of musical trivia, but it’s not surprising that some musicians in the “rock” genre now try to fuse jazz with rock. After all, jazz is the root of rock, which seems on the surface a strange notion, mayhap a delusional one even, but if jazz had died a quick death in the early 20th Century, all the other music forms that are derived from it wouldn’t be here.
Interesting Fardreamer, I never knew that. I’m not too educated when it comes to jazz history. Luckily though it didn’t die, or we all would be without some awesome musicians today.
Think about this….if you really take a close listen to American popular music starting in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and follow all the major trends - Swing, Big Band, Be-Bop, Rhythm and Blues, Rock ‘n’ roll, to Rock and all its branches, you’ll notice an “evolutionary” progression, especially since many artists we consider “rock” stars tend to listen to various genres and borrow liberally from them. A good - if perhaps silly - example: Metallica playing John Williams’ The Imperial March from “The Empire Strikes Back.” (Not a jazz tune, certainly, but it’s crossover appeal/cultural borrowing.)
omgg i love it….it is so awesome totally email me sum time….
I agree that it comes and goes in phases. It does evolve as well as it continues. It goes to show that even though you are known to play a certain style of music that those are just not what your influences are. Musicians listen to a variety of music styles and have their likes and dislikes just as the fans do.
Well real good jazz after very long.The right kind of chords are touched by the artists.The numbers I liked the most are ,”Needle and Thread and Just Wait “.Yes this the kind of music that adds class to decent dinner parties.
Their new full length, Rhythm, Chord, & Melody is the perfect follow up to this EP. Track 2, Breathe Again, is disturbing yet deep and leaves you with a sence of having your emotions challanged. Track 4, Let it Go, is a groove and a half.