Kyle Bronsdon: CDs, downloads & merchandise

discs & downloads

A Model Psychosis

Albert Hofmann, LSD & the Drug War - A jazz song cycle. Bob Dorough & Randy Newman cruising in the Great Red Shark on a "Fear & Loathing" roadtrip. A concept album inspired by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, best known for his discovery of LSD. Hofmann personally encouraged jazz songwriter Kyle Bronsdon to deal with the stigma and "prevailing misunderstanding in the general public regarding these kinds of 'drugs.'" Bronsdon honors the chemist's life and work and explores the dark history of the drug war in his newest CD. The musician will be donating proceeds of the album to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a non-profit organization that helps researchers obtain funding and approval for legitimate studies of LSD, marijuana and other psychedelics. The proceeds will be used to re-print Hofmann's book, LSD: My Problem Child, which has been out of print in English for years.

All About The Burn

Misplaced credentials inspired Bronsdon to become reordained as a minister of the Universal Life Church on the heels of releasing All About the Burn. The CD features the songs "Church of the Spark" and "What's Not to Like" (based on a zen parable), along with several love songs. Bronsdon finds no inconsistency: "Joseph Campbell once said that love is the burning point of life," he says, "and many eastern religions hold sex to be a sacred act akin to worship and meditation. Even the Judeo-Christian tradition contains vast, often hidden reservoirs of honor and piety to the alternatively nurturing and wrathful female principal." Featuring Namoli Brennet and Steve Grams.

Kitchen Swing

Bronsdon's solo debut features old bandmates Brenden Kearney and Steve Grams (the "KGB Trio", Kings of Pleasure) as well as seasoned swingers like Harvey Newmark (Anita O'Day, Harry "Sweets" Edison) and newer talent including Carl Sonny Leyland (Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys). Mike Cogan (Lavay Smith, Indigo Swing) mastered the album. The album covers a lot of ground stylistically, from ragtime to jump blues to avante garde jazz. Bronsdon makes subtle departures from tradition, yet his intention to create an accessible jazz record seems to have been realized. Much of the CD shares an intimate sound -- it gets its name from the four selections that the drummer recorded in his kitchen. "I like playing music you can take a bite out of," says Bronsdon, "written music is just like a cookbook. Some people can follow the recipe and some people can't, and even if you put in all the right ingredients in the right order it doesn't guarantee it'll be delicious. More importantly," he adds, "like Zappa said, 'unless you're really weird you don't eat the recipe.'"