MJ12 gets their name from a supposed organization called “Majestik 12” which was supposedly convened in the 1940s to investigate UFOs. While that group might be purely mythological (or perhaps not), this group is very real and very cool. This MJ12 is made up of four musicians. Percy Jones in the bass player. He’s best known perhaps as a member of the group Brand X (a band that’s recently reunited with Jones once again handling the bass work). He has also played with artists ranging from Suzanne Vego to Soft Machine, Brian Eno, Steve Hackett, Ray Harper and more. Playing drums and trombone, Stephen Moses was part of the “loft jazz scene” in New York City. Guitarist David Phelps is currently a member of The New York Hieroglyphics and has his own band. Saxophonist Chris Bacas has played with the likes of the Glen Miller Band, The Tommy Dorsey Band, the Artie Shaw Band, and Buddy Rich’s legendary Big Band. Together these guys create a brand of instrumental fusion that’s sometimes spacey, sometimes bombastic, and always cool. I’d say there is enough rock here to consider this prog rock, but either way, we generally land fusion under prog at Music Street Journal.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Percy Jones’ bass is purely on fire as the rhythm section leads out here. Other musical elements come over the top bringing a sense of mystery along with some great fusion. This continues to evolve, getting harder rocking as it does so. They drop way down for a mellower movement mid-track and then fire out into some seriously incendiary stuff from there. Then an even more sedate movement takes over between the five and six minute marks. That portion has a bit of a space element. At it continues a police siren is heard. That sound continues as the cut works out into scorching hot fusion to take the tune to its close.