The multifaceted rock band known as
JaCee and the Jags have released their latest LP album, “Moon Kiss
Sun.” Comprising eight original tracks for an approximate total
listening time of over half an hour, the full-length collection
represents a round JaCee experience for listeners not yet acquainted.
Kaleidoscopic, remarkably written and bearing studio production
rivaling the best work of Phil Spector, “Moon Kiss Sun” is the
latest reason audiophiles should be paying very close attention to
this versatile crew from Massachusetts.
Bandleader JaCee has cited various
inspirations for his music. These have particularly included Burt
Bacharach and Hal David, Henry Mancini, and the Beatles. For “Moon
Kiss Sun” especially, JaCee has emphasized the influences of Kinks
leader Ray Davies, French accordionist Francis Lai, '60s rock, and
the best of pop music in general.
Leading the series of new songs for
JaCee's 2014-2015 year is title track “Moon Kiss Sun.” A
calypso-styled single which trades the pinging and panging of steel
drums for the patter of congas, “Moon Kiss Sun” marries the
traditional Caribbean sound to go-go guitar tones for a groovy rock
result that could only have come from one of the most unpredictable
songwriters of the modern era.
Speaking of the genesis of “Moon Kiss
Sun,” JaCee writes, “'Moon Kiss Sun' is a calypso song and has a
happy island feel. The song was composed imagining myself as an old
Jamaican fisherman on the beach, singing and fixing nets. The
fisherman praises the sun and moon and dreams the moon is his lover
and that he is the sun, itself.”
The LP, which JaCee of JaCee and the
Jags affectionately refers to as “MKS” for short, largely
revolves around the chord progressions of that initial title track.
It was the seed that sprouted the tree in all its sonic splendor.
“You see, I bought a new acoustic
guitar,” JaCee writes, “(a Greg Bennett design D-5CE) and I
wanted to show off the way the strings ring. That's how 'MKS' got
started. From there the calypso theme emerged and other variations –
the 'Is This Luv?' song, for example.”
This is not the first time JaCee and
the Jags have fully explored the character of one or more singles,
however. Their debut “Risky Luv” LP utilized this method of
songwriting, too.
“My hope is listeners will enjoy
hearing JaCee's song variations,” writes the bandleader. “For me
it's the same as an artist with canvas offering up a thematic series
of pictures, etc.”
JaCee and the Jags are a moving,
changing crew of collaborators. This 2015 incarnation of the Jags
includes Smokin' Squibb on sax and keys, and Tips Shoemaker on keys
and trumpet, both of whom return from their sparkling performances on
last year's “Risky Luv” LP.
“Moon Kiss Sun” from JaCee and the
Jags is available online worldwide. Get in early, calypso, jazz and
'60s-pop fans.
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
“Moon Kiss Sun” from JaCee and
the Jags –
Official JaCee and the Jags SoundCloud site –
JaCee and the Jags Official music
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