Inferno is the brand new album by British guitarist Chris Corcoran.

Corcoran hit my radar back in 2017 with his instrumental release entitled Blues Guitar Grooves. That album featured a little big band sound, complete with swinging horns. Blues Guitar Grooves opened with Henry Mancini’s A Shot In The Dark, setting a mood of an early 60’s bachelor pad cool and that place where I spend a lot of time, where jazz and blues dance around one another in sultry spasms of sensual bliss. A handful of great covers sits comfortably next to some Corcoran originals. I have revisited this album many times over the past few years.

Then in 2020 (the year that wasn’t) Corcoran released another all-instrumental affair, Coolerater. It followed (more or less) the same successful formula as Blues Guitar Grooves and delivered some of those same joys.

Now, here in the summer of 2021, Chris Corcoran is at it again, with a twist. Here, the very talented and tasteful plank spanker uses a stripped-down ensemble to deliver a program of all original tunes. Corcoran told me recently that the song titles are all based on the text of Dante’s Inferno. Having heard the album several times before becoming armed with this information, I had already drawn my own conclusions as to the material contained within. I didn’t divine anything remotely as dark as the nine concentric circles of hell but the album does offer some soundscapes with contemplative thematic elements.

The album’s eleven tracks hold together conceptually where the poetic vision of the auteur is fulfilled. Five of the tracks feature the Hammond B3 of Claudio Corona. These have a Barney Kessel meets Jack McDuff vibe that is a lot of fun.  Others sound like Duane Eddy driving to Lower Tressles in a Tesla. 

The multi-talented Paul Richardson deserves to be cited. He is the album’s co-producer, along with Corcoran, and also co-wrote several tunes on Inferno. Richardson also plays drums on a few tracks and is responsible for the album’s smart cover design.

Inferno has been simmering in the fertile mind of Chris Corcoran for a couple of years now. I’m very glad he was able to bring this dish to the table. I can’t wait to see what he has cooking on the burner next. If it is anything like his 2021 offering, it will be a lot of fun.

- David Mac



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