Style: Jazz fusion, progressive rock (instrumental/clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Snarky Puppy, Sungazer, Thank You Scientist, Shubh Saran, Syncatto
Country: Canada
Release date: 5 June 2026

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Promotional material for new albums always heaps on the superlatives, and after you’ve read enough of them, you get an eye for reading the underlying code. ‘Our heaviest album yet’ means there’s one pretty heavy song that’s gonna be the lead single but the rest of the album is their lightest material yet; talk of ‘a collaborative effort’ means the band are at each other’s throats and on the verge of breaking up; and Bletchley Park have cracked that ‘diverse influences’ is a cipher for ‘we’ve added pop choruses’. But the trigger phrase for me these days is ‘virtuoso guitarist’, which is usually code for ‘bland Plini knock-off’, and lord knows there’s enough of ‘em around. If everyone’s a virtuoso then the term ceases to lose meaning. Stop calling yourselves virtuosos!

Ok, Mike Murray, I’ll make an exception for you¹. For one thing, Murray, a Canadian guitarist and band leader, isn’t singing from the instrudjental hymn book; he’s a traditional jazz fusion/shred guy. And on his sophomore effort, he’s going to pull out all the virtuosic stops. Over forty-two minutes, Murray and co. traverse an array of different vibes and genre influences, folding in blues, shred, carnatic folk, and Spanish pop into a versatile record that manages what it says on the tin: Convergence. 

The general vibe has more than a little Snarky Puppy at their most energetic to it, minus the horns. The focus falls instead on Murray’s leading guitar and his duelling partner, Giovanni Campanelli, who dominates the keys and synthesiser. In addition, a certain amount of vocal talent shores up Convergence, most of which is provided by Shourya Jain as she scats and melismas her way across a number of tracks, as well taking the lead with actual lyrics on “Next to Me”. But it’s the genre experimentation which really shines through, although it takes a couple of tracks to turn up. “Barish” kicks this creative exploration off, utilising bansuri (bamboo flute), courtesy of Vasu Bisht, as a carnatic bookend on a track that otherwise leans into a relaxing lounge jazz feel bolstered by some beautifully clean solos from Campanelli and Murray. “Alma” is the first sung track, a Spanish folk number led by Arianna Rueda, which cultivates a Natalia Lafourcade-esque sound with its tango-esque rhythm. “B.L.A.H.”, meanwhile, sees Murray Bonamassaing his way around the fretboard with intricate blues licks and a sudden tempo shift which pushes the blues into the red. 

But the three performers in tightest concert across Convergence are Murray, Campanelli, and drummer Dan Klas, and you can see this most clearly on the first few instrumental tracks. “Point of Origin” sees Murray and Campanelli trading licks on guitar and synthesiser, the two of them threatening to leave scorchmarks on their respective instruments. “Streetwise” sees all three players shredding their nards off, to use a technical term. Murray embarks on some whammy bar/octave pedal shenanigans that feel legally dubious; the band settle into a groove to let Klas smash the absolute shit out of his kit; and Campanelli caps the song off with a synth solo that feels like it was designed to shut his two bandmates up. The three performers work in perfect concert, performing an ever so tight core. And while I’d like to sing the praises of bassist Jack-James Lemaire, too, I do find him a little lost in the album’s mix. It’s only when he gets some solo sections on “Alma” and “Connections” that we really get to hear him. 

All of this nard-shredding talk does a disservice to the subtleties of the record, however. These are perhaps best showcased on “Alma”, where the band let the slowly increasing confidence of Rueda’s initially gossamer soft vocals drive the song forward with Campanelli and Murray assiduously following her, the latter with subtle classical guitar. When Shourya Jain takes the helm on “Next to Me”, Murray really mutes his chords, and Campanelli leans languorously on the Hammond, allowing Jain to wring emotion from every syllable. When Murray does get to his solo, he uses some deliciously restrained dynamics so that when he hits the big bluesy bends, you feel them in your, er, nards. Oh damn it, I was meant to stop talking about those. “Connections” closes out the album with a slightly cliched vibe, its main vocal/piano motif making me feel like I’m watching Toy Story for some reason—but it nevertheless satisfies, particularly when Lemaire’s bass solo gets going.

I maintain that we need to limit the number of people allowed to use the term ‘virtuoso’, but I’ll give Murray and his bandmates a pass. Convergence sits in a tradition of jazz fusion that will be very familiar to listeners, but the record’s similarities to other acts is no bad thing when the result is a collaboration of such talented performers working in perfect synchrony. Murray leads with confidence and humility, allowing everyone their moment in the sun, and it’s to the record’s credit. I find myself inclined to converge with Convergence and I’m willing to bet you will too, but if Murray’s promotion says that his next album is the ‘most collaborative yet’, you’ll know to avoid it.  

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Recommended tracks: Point of Origin, Barish, Alma, Next to Me
You may also like: Gleb Kolyadin, Clément Belio, Bend the Future
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: independent

Mike Murray is:
– Mike Murray – guitar, composition, producer
– Giovanni Campanelli – keys
– Jack-James Lemaire – bass
– Dan Klas – drums
– Shourya Jain – vocals (tracks 1, 2, 7, 8) and lyrics (track 7)
– Arianna Rueda – vocals and lyrics (track 5), group vocals (track 7)
– Vasu Bisht – bansuri (track 4)
– Dani Garcia, Patricio Llovet, Patrick Arteaga, Sam Louis, Kristine Bishop, Laura Lopez Barrera, Jada Reyes, – Cheyenne Shamid – group vocals (track 7)

1. To be fair, I don’t think Murray is calling himself a virtuoso, but his promoter is. ↩︎