1. Ready Steady Flow (4:26)
2. Snake Oil (4:21)
3. Magic Carpet Ride (6:53)
4. Carousel (4:31)
5. Like This, Like That (4:39)
6. Soul Vibration (4:24)
7. Bossa Go Go (3:53)
8. Parisian Blue (3:59)
9. Piece Of Cake (4:01)
10. Never Too Late (5:36)

Chris Standring: guitars, talk box, keyboards, programming
Andre Berry: bass (1, 5, 6, 7, 9)
Chris Coleman: drums (1, 2, 6)
Dino Soldo: saxophones, EWI, tenor sax solo (2)
Dan Lutz: acoustic bass (2, 3, 4, 8, 10)
David Karsony: drums (3, 4, 7, 8, 10)
Jeff Babko: Fender Rhodes (3)
Jim Wilson: acoustic piano (4)
Rodney Lee: organ (5)
Sergio Gonzales: drums (5, 9) 

Eight years have passed since Chris Standring's Love and Paragraphs (Ultimate Vibe, 2008) when he last met expectation as a seasoned, if not splashy smooth jazz guitar slinger. Then Standring had something of a musical epihamy where he became simultaneously restless and ambitious. The result was the lavish Blue Bolero (Ultimate Vibe, 2010), a radical departure for the British born artist where he fused jazz combos with a string section for a distinctive classical feel.

Standring followed up with three releases from his Ultimate Vibe label. Send Me Some Snow, a Christmas album of original compositions with vocalist Katherin Shorr, Electric Wonderland, a slightly lesser follow-up to Blue Bolero, but still enjoyable on its own merits and 2014's Don't Talk, Dance! as Standring stuck a toe in the waters of electronic dance music.

Back after two years, Ten is the sound of Standring idling in neutral. That's not a bad thing, but even in the liner notes when Standring says, "Finally, I wanted to make an album that got my jazz rocks off but was still accessible to people who weren't musicians," it feels like he's pulling back instead of pushing forward.

"Ready Steady Flow" opens Ten with a nice bouncy groove with Standring engaging in a call-and-response between his guitar and talk box. "Bossa Go Go" is fanciful fun and "Snake Oil"benefits from Dino Soldo's tenor sax solo, but all n' all there's a lot of nice sounding grooves that don't fully leave a lasting impression. It's all good, but never transcends into greatness.

The Standring style is to show don't tell, but even when showing doing it without showing off. "Economical" may be misconstrued as not being a compliment, but Standring is a prudent player who keeps things tight. At a time when flashy technique and piling notes upon notes are often confused with being brilliant, his "less-is-more" approach may not be dazzling, but it is in the pocket because everything fits on Ten. While it is more pleasant than astounding, it's a perfectly fine way to spend 48 minutes. ---Jeff Winbush, allaboutjazz.com

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01 – Pandora’s Box
02 – Almost September
03 – All That Glitters
04 – Oliver’s Twist
05 – Wishful Thinking
06 – Heart Of The Matter
07 – Escapade		play
08 – Merry Go Round
09 – Castle In The Sky
10 – Nightingale’s Bridge

Personnel: 
Chris Standring: guitars, keyboards, vocals, programming, guitarlele, talk box;
Rodney Lee: Fender Rhodes solo (1); 
Jimmy Earl: electric bass (1, 4); 
Nikki Garcia: violin (1-3, 6-9); 
Barbra Porter: violin (1-3, 6-9); 
Tom Tally: viola (1-3, 6-9); 
Cameron Stone: cello (1-3, 6-9); 
Rick Braun: trumpet, flugelhorn (2); 
Mitchel Forman: acoustic piano (2, 3, 6, 8-10);
Dan Lutz: acoustic bass (2, 8, 9); 
Larry Steen: acoustic bass (3, 6. 10); 
David Karasony: drums (3, 6-8, 10); 
Andre Berry: bass (5); 
Oscar Seaton: drums (5, 9); 
Dino Soldo: saxophones, clarinet and EWI (8).

At some point during every artist's career, if they truly consider themselves as artists, they must ask themselves a question of truth. This question is not so much, "Am I following the truth?" but rather "Am I following my truth?"

The answer to this question goes a long way in determining whether the artist plays it safe and stays in their comfort zone, or takes the bolder, but potentially more interesting and satisfying course of following their muse wherever it takes them. For multi-instrumentalist Chris Standring, the answer seems to be to make only the music that moves him. It's a smart choice.

Standring is a skilled guitarist who understands that what you don't play matters as much as what you do. Standring's Blue Bolero (Ultimate Vibe, 2010) marked a radical departure for him as he decided to finally make the guitar-and-strings themed record he had long aspired to do. Bolero won him the best reviews of his career and Electric Wonderland should do likewise. The native son of England carries on with the string quartet, but sets aside his jazz guitar for a Fender Stratocaster because, as he explains, "The Fender strat gives you an electric quality."

His newfound fondness for the string quartet—this one featuring Nikki Garcia and Barbra Porter on violin, Tom Tally on viola, and Cameron Steele on cello—indicates Standring shift away from keyboards as his primary accompanying instrument, though the playing of Rodney Lee's Fender Rhodes on "Pandora's Box" and Mitchel Forman's piano is stellar.

Standring's preferred style is playing within the parameters of the band and avoiding showy guitar pyrotechnics. On "Almost September" Standring gently riffs on guitar and guitarlele (similar to a ukelele) as Rick Braun grooves on trumpet and fluglehorn. "All That Glitters" benefits immensely from the efficacy of Larry Steen's acoustic bass and Dave Karsony on drums. "Merry Go Round" is simply grand as Standring and the string section play off of each other beautifully and Forman's graceful piano solo is delightful. "Oliver's Twist" is an arresting, danceable shuffle that sneaks into the ears and sets the toes tapping.

Electric Wonderland doesn't push the envelope in quite the way Blue Bolero did, but that is a minor quibble. It's still a terrific album and Standring fans should be pleased. For new fans, this is an excellent jumping off point. ---Jeff Winbush, allaboutjazz.com

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