Band lets diversity strike a chord

Chinese-American guitarist Lawrence Ku has completed his latest album, titled Clarity,with bassist Fred Grenade and drummer Nicholas McBride. The album is composed of nine tracks, eight original and one arrangement, combining improvisational concepts with a diversity of musical sensibilities, such as jazz, rock and funk.

"I've been playing with different bands and jazz and pop artists over the past seven, eight years. The new album is a combination of influences from the musicians I've worked with and the music I've been listening to," says Ku. "And the material that I've written for the trio has developed over the course of the last few years into the sound you hear on the record."

The last piece of the album is the title track Clarity,which is the shortest piece in the album about three min and 14 seconds. Ku says that he composed it in a couple of hours and though it's a simple piece, he wants to make a statement with the song, which speaks for the new album.

"I do have a tendency to write longer, more complex or cerebral songs. But recently, especially with the tracks on Clarity,I'm approaching the music a little differently, trying to find more depth in simplicity. As I get older, I've found that simple things also have great depth and meaning, the title tracks is probably the biggest example of that, Clarityis just a short eight-bar melody" he says.