I received an advanced copy of Scott Kinsey’s long-anticipated new CD, Kinesthetics, the other day, and it was worth the wait. Kinsey is best-known as the keyboardist for the band Tribal Tech, and he’s come to be regarded by many as a master of music synthesizers and sound. Indeed, Kinsey is one of the few keyboardists I can think of who has legitimately inherited Zawinul’s mantle as an innovator on the synthesizer; a keyboardist who has developed his own voice on the instrument. Kinsey’s sound canvas seems to have no bounds.

Over the past couple of years Scott has been building his own body of work and performing regularly at L.A. jazz clubs. His new CD is the culmination of that work, and I can tell you it is among the best CDs I’ve heard in a while. Zawinul’s influence is clearly evident, but this music is uniquely Kinsey. And listening to Kinesthetics makes clear the influence that Scott had on Tribal Tech’s last two albums, both of which had a looser vibe than their predecessors, relying on in-the-moment improvisations rather than written compositions. That loose vibe carries forward in Kinesthetics. This album is likely to be lumped into the “fusion” category, but it isn’t your typical fusion chops-fest. Rather, it is—for lack of a better description—Kinsey music. Fresh, innovative, and funky. Recommended.