New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Phi Yaan-Zek Official Website) Frank Zappa lives. Or at least his spirit does in guitarist/composer Phi Yaan-Zek. Zappa's ingeniously warped melding of classical orchestration, progressive-rock sonic experimentation, and jazz fusion reverberates in the work of Yaan-Zek, especially on his latest album, "Dance with the Anima." A collaboration with drummer Marco Minnemann, "Dance with the Anima" is another excursion into Yaan-Zek's wildly eclectic vision for music. It is the product of a mind which refuses to sit still, abruptly shifting from Joe Satriani-ish axe grinding to a John Barry-esque spy theme to pummeling jazz on the first cut, "Adventures in Myth." As its rollercoaster ride of an opening song, "Adventures in Myth" is almost like a sign that says, "Beware all you who enter here." In other words, as with Zappa's finest, most revolutionary material, this is challenging, intellectually provoking stuff. "I'm a musical explorer, a purveyor of exotic guitar-based frequencies, an organic composer of poly-rhythmic rituals," Yaan-Zek explained. However, despite all of his technically spellbinding guitar wizardry, he still feels he is merely a student of the genre. "I'm just a beginner. Being a beginner keeps everyday fresh as the journey into music is deep, mysterious, and one of constant learning." The futurist jazz and inventive art rock of "Dance with the Anima" nevertheless reflects more the perspective of a professor teaching his tricks than a newbie studying the trade. Yaan-Zek is all over the map, chronicling the blues with "Midnight Tryst"; diving into world music on "Four Daughters of Phrygia"; and jamming to a Latin beat on "Maid with Spanish Fly." Such musical cross-pollination may sound cerebral, but there's a underlying universal theme that stretches across Yaan-Zek's songs: Freedom. Yaan-Zek liberates himself from the boundaries between genres. According to Yaan-Zek, none of it is planned in advance. "Playing music is my constant reminder to get out of the way and surrender to the moment," he revealed. Listeners are advised to do the same.
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