Echoes Podcast: Michael Whalen

Michael Whalen's Virtual Super-Group

Michael Whalen trips into the fantastic with his new album, Our April Tigers. He’s gathered a super-group that includes guitarist Michael Brook, bassist Michael Manring, trumpeter Jeff Oster, and percussionist Karsh Kale. The title is AI-generated and the music was crafted remotely. Hear Whalen, Brook, and Oster talk about their blindfolded creation that sounds like a meeting of Miles Davis, Jon Hassell, and Patrick O’Hearn, in the Echoes Podcast from PRX.

Keyboardist and composer Michael Whalen is someone who has been around Echoes for a long time. We’ve been hearing him with his nature documentary soundtracks on the Narada label and his first ambient album, Night Scenes, released in 1996. Since then he’s released scores of albums ranging from solo piano to ambient piano, electronic orchestrations and hard fusion. Last year, his album, Imaginary Trains was an Echoes CD of the Month and now he has a new one, Our April Tigers and that will be the CD of the Month for May 2023. It’s a fascinating and seductive album with an all-star cast of musicians including electric bass icon Michael Manring, Indian percussionist Karsh Kale, film composer and guitarist Michael Brook and trumpeter Jeff Oster. It’s a beautiful, intuitive album, that belies the fact that none of the musicians ever played together or even knew what to play. Michael Whalen, Michael Brook and Jeff Oster talk about their blind creation in the Echoes Podcast from PRX.