REVIEWS

A&R FACTORY (Mar 2024)

Martin Packwood’s latest single, Moonlight in Paris, is a scintillatingly smooth journey through the streets of jazz fusion, where every note feels like a step along the Seine under a starlit sky. This amorous installation unravels as a sensory expedition, wrapped in the warmth of a Parisian night.

Packwood’s guitar work, reminiscent of the bluesy soulfulness of Eric Clapton, intertwines effortlessly with the jazz keys. The bluesy guitar notes, like whispers of a distant love affair, meld with percussive fills that don’t just give the score structure, they fill Moonlight in Paris with anticipation. Each progression in the track teases the listener not unlike the narrative arc of a classic romance.

The genius of Packwood lies in his ability to draw from a diverse palette of influences. His style, a confluence of Santana’s rhythmic mastery and the improvisational spirit of jazz, makes Moonlight in Paris a track that transcends mere auditory experience. It’s a piece that paints pictures, evoking the filmic aura of a David Lynch creation.

This release, following Packwood’s consistent contributions to the jazz-rock fusion domain, confirms his place as a sculptor of soundscapes rather than just a musician. Moonlight in Paris is a nocturnal stroll through the heart of jazz fusion, leaving listeners with a longing for just one more night in the city of lights.

RADIO AIRPLAY (November 2023)

Packed full of melody and drenched in feeling, Martin Packwood's charming Latin-esque jazz fusion instrumental tune "Maruata Sunrise" effectively combines strong thematic development with undeniable memorability, making for a nuance-filled guitar-based piece of instrumental songwriting that places a firm emphasis on structural cohesiveness. When it comes to instrumental guitar songwriting, it's often easy to fall into the trap of swinging from one unrelated creative idea to another. This often causes a disjointed feeling within the writing itself which then in turn creates the risk of the listener's attention wallowing away, however, this is most certainly not the case with regard to "Maruata Sunrise". It's clearly evident that Martin has spent considerable time crafting his main melodic themes in a way that ensures the arrangement feels interconnected and thematically well-threaded together.

The effective and stylistically fitting instrumentation serves as a good fit for this type of electric guitar instrumental and by keeping the supporting instrumentation minimal, more emphasis is put on the guitar and its melodic explorations, ensuring it remains as the main focal point throughout. With the subtle synth string textures, animated bass lines, driving percussion, and almost prog-like accompanying rhythm guitar elements, a good spread of timbral variety is achieved, helping to create a fitting bed for the guitar to dance over. As already mentioned, the way in which the track's many melodic ideas have been treated is excellent and shows that a great deal of care has gone into their crafting. These memorable melodic hooks not only give the track its character but continuously make sure that there's a strong sense of structure for listeners to latch onto.

RADIO AIRPLAY (October 2023)

Steeped in melody and abundant in feel, Martin Packwood's passion-infused guitar instrumental "East Coast Groove" combines the smooth-flowing nature of jazz fusion with the unmistakable sound of rock guitar, providing listeners with a delectable and harmonically rich listening experience that guitar enthusiasts will undoubtedly connect with. Few genres possess the ability to transport listeners to distant realms quite like jazz fusion. It's a musical universe where boundaries are blurred, genres intermingle, and virtuosity knows no bounds, and "East Coast Groove" serves as a strong example of both the genre's enduring appeal and the undeniable power the guitar has to provoke a strong emotional response from listeners.

The instrumentation, both rich in tonal diversity and well layered provides the arrangement with a great deal of color, adding to the track's ability to transport listeners to various musical landscapes and helping serve as an absorbing textured backdrop for the guitar to glide over. Melodic development plays an integral role within any piece of music, even more so in an instrumental track due to the absence of vocals and Martin has clearly spent a considerable time ensuring melodic development forms the basis of "East Coast Groove". There are clear thematic threads weaving their way throughout the track and this not only allows for a better feeling of cohesiveness throughout the arrangement, but it allows for a far greater connection to be made between the music and the audience. Guitar instrumentals can sometimes fall into the trap of more is more and can have the tendency to move from one idea to the next, however, this is not the case in "East Coast Groove" and there is a definite feeling of structure underpinning the writing.

As the composition unfolds, the guitar takes on various roles, displaying a wide range of emotions. At times, it's a playful jester, dancing through melodic scales with a mischievous grin. In other moments, it's a soulful storyteller, pouring heart and emotion into each note, conveying a sense of longing or introspection. The guitarist's mastery of dynamics is evident, effortlessly transitioning from delicate whispers to more pronounced articulations, all within the same musical narrative.

A&R FACTORY (Oct 2021)

After an installation of tropic percussion and equally as exotic reverb, Martin Packwood’s single, East Coast Groove, gives way to a guitar-driven jazz-rock instrumental soundscape, which amalgamates era-spanning guitar styles from across the globe and unravels as an inexplicably unique tapestry that breaks through the monocultural mould, note by note.

The Birmingham, UK-hailing guitarist has long held a passion for instrumental composition, inspired by a diverse array of riff legends, from Santana to Clapton. By picking up his Strat and finding a refreshing way to pay ode to their styles, Packwood orchestrated a hit of pure rhythmic soul.

If you’re looking to get into the world of groove or you have long been acquainted, you will experience East Coast Groove as four minutes of progressively elevated guitar-driven euphoria.

RADIO AIRPLAY (Sept 2021)

Jazz guitarist Martin Packwood just released his first track entitled "Daydreamer", and it's a delightful tune that will take you back to the worry-free days of yesteryear. As you sit back and relax, you may lose track of time and not realize that the song comes in at just under 4 minutes. The gentle melody and overall mood of "Daydreamer" will melt away the aggravations of the daily grind and cause you to drift off into a blissful state almost like being in a trance, hence the appropriate title "Daydreamer"!! Here Martin lays down a lovely jazz chord progression played out by an easy-going, soft and airy synth track, topped off with soothing guitars creating the ultimate laid-back groove.

Martin's performance/execution and the song's arrangement are top-notch, and I like how Martin utilizes a common jazz song structure, complete with alternate chords and refreshing turn arounds. Honestly I've listened to this track at least a half dozen times, and I just don't get tired of it! And the fact that this is an original composition makes it even better, the future is wide open for Martin. this is an exciting start and I truly hope there's more to come.

A&R FACTORY (Oct 2021)

Martin Packwood is rather special with Jazz-inspired debut single ‘Daydreamer’. With his highly anticipated full album set for release in 2022, Martin Packwood soothes all our worries away with one of the most peaceful instrumental-only songs you will hear all year with ‘Daydreamer‘.

‘Daydreamer‘ from Jazz guitarist Martin Packwood, is a lovely piece of music from a highly experienced musician. After reconnecting the much-missed love for his true passion again recently, you feel this raw emotion inside his experienced fingers which absolutely transforms this wonderful single. There is much to hold onto here, as this ravishing riff is just so perfectly constructed with much love attached. Sometimes you just need to lather in peaceful ambiance, to break away from all of the distracting noise of this pollution-filled world.