The following is a review of FLOW from Jazz Weekly. Click here to read the review on the Jazz Weekly website.
Sounds from Windham Hill return from the 80s as legendary guitarist William Ackerman teams with Fiona Joy/p-voc, Lawrence Blatt/g-uk, Jeff Oster/tp-fh and a handful of guests to give a 21st Century interpretation of what used to be called “New Age” music.
The following is a review of FLOW from Music Existence. Click here to read the review on the Music Existence website.
New Age Supergroup FLOW’s debut album is out now and it will definitely blow you away. With it’s soft melodies and calming instrumentals, you’ll be whisked away to a world of inner peace and relaxation.
‘Whisper Me This’ is one of the best songs on the album. It’s very dreamy and will make you feel like you’re 1,000 feet up in the air floating on a fluffy cloud. It’s filled with beautiful notes that are perfect soundscapes. It made me want to go lay in some soft grass on a cool night and stargaze with a loved one.
The following is a review from independentartistbuzz.tumblr.com Click here to read the review on the independentartistbuzz.tumblr.com website.
New Age Supergroup FLOW has just dropped their self-titled debut album! FLOW is comprised of Fiona Joy, Jeff Oster, Lawrence Blatt, and Will Ackerman. The new tracks are filled with dreamy soundscapes that will transport you in seconds. This week we had the opportunity to ask them a few questions!
The following is a review from All About Jazz. Click here to read the review on the All About Jazz website.
FLOW stands for Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, Jeff Oster and Will Ackerman. Its a New Age group formed out of friendship and a history of working and playing together over eight years.
FLOW is a New Age music group – Will Ackerman, Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster.
The following is a review from Samantha Garcia on zonemusicreporter.com Click here to read the review on the zonemusicreporter.com website.
FLOW: On Point, and On Tour!
It isn’t often that the New Age genre finds itself enjoying the emergence of a group such as FLOW, who recently announced their May 2018 Arrival Tour from New Orleans to Seattle, San Fran, and LA. The talented Will Ackerman, Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster have joined to give us an album of serene beauty. Each musician brings passion for their instruments and years of dedication to their craft into this album, manifesting a creative energy so strong that it resonates throughout every note. Nothing is wasted. Originally a project started by Lawrence Blatt, FLOW came together when he invited pianist Fiona Joy and composer Jeff Oster to collaborate with him at Will Ackerman’s Imaginary Road Studios in Vermont. It wasn’t long, however, until Will became far more than just a producer, and an integral contributor to the project.
The following is a review from axs.com Click here to read the review on the axs.com website.
“These are four musicians who are all self-sufficient in their talents. They’re brilliant at making albums that are unique and musically successful as soloists. The lovely surprise is that they, we, all managed with grace and ease to come together and create something new and different from anything any of us had ever done before,” Grammy-winner Will Ackerman explains.
Ackerman, along with Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, and Jeff Oster, make up the New Age music group called FLOW – hence the acronym. The group formed when Blatt, Joy and Oster met with Ackerman to record at his studio. Once united, together they formed FLOW; a collaborative effort founded in friendship born from nearly a decade of playing together.
On the heels of their debut album and the recent announcement of their two nominations for the 14th Annual Zone Music Awards (Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album), both Blatt and Ackerman, took time out to share some of their heartfelt journey with AXS.
The following is a review from Skopemag.com Click here to read the review on the skopmage.com website.
Flow embraces a colorful, soothing sound on the ambient bliss of their self-titled effort. Done with the utmost of taste, Flow draws from jazz, folk, incorporating slight hints of dance all nicely anchored by lush waves of sound that simply wash over it all. Melodically rich the way the many elements intermingle results in a psychedelic, kaleidoscopic aura one that feels positively inviting. Bright and airy the way the songs evolve results a true talent for form, for the spaciousness of the tracks further emphasizes the emphasis on the infinite, the pastoral beauty of nature. Songs perfectly flow, one into the other making the track lengths irrelevant as they all work together merging into a seamless whole.
The following is a review from Bill Binkelman, of ZoneMusicReporter.com. Click here to read the review on the ZoneMusicReporter.com website.
FLOW – FLOW
Having cut my rock musical teeth, so to speak, in the late ’60s and early ’70s, I listened to my fair share of supergroup recordings: Cream (and later Blind Faith), Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, West, Bruce and Laing, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Bad Company, and others. As a result, I know that the path of the supergroup is fraught with several challenges, such as clashing egos, clashing artistic visions, and “one and done” fixation (a la Blind Faith, for example). I had no such fear when I heard that pianist Fiona Joy, guitarists Lawrence Blatt and Will Ackerman, and flugelhorn maestro Jeff Oster were forming FLOW (Fiona, Lawrence, Oster, and Will). Having met these folks in person, I was confident that their relationship in the studio would be symbiotic and yield some delicious musical treats for the listeners. I was curious what they would “sound” like, not so much because their individual styles are vastly different, but more “what would they come up?”
The following is a review from R J Lannan, of ZoneMusicReporter.com. Click here to read the review on the ZoneMusicReporter.com website.
Fluid Astonishment
Two guitarist, a pianist, and a horn player walk into a studio. Now if that sounds like the beginning of a good story, it is, but the punchline is something quite exceptional. The eponymous album is FLOW. The group of four consists of Australia’s darling daughter, pianist Fiona Joy. One of the guitarists is the skillfully able Lawrence Blatt. The third is the most sought after accompanists of contemporary music, flugelhorn artist Jeff Oster. The fourth is a legendary guitarist, the one talent that has become an icon for the genre, Will Ackerman.
The music is about four friends that have known and supported each other and, more importantly, each other’s work for years. Finally one of them said, “Let’s do this” and they did. The results are extraordinary.
The following is a review from Mike Ragogna, of the Huffington Post. Click here to read the review on the Huffington Post website.
“FLOW” EXCLUSIVE FROM WILL ACKERMAN’S QUARTET FLOW
