WORTH A LISTEN
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Oddly enough, the most engaging composition on Secrets was composed by Gary Husband. (He’s not listed as playing on the track, either.)
Maybe it’s not all that surprising, though. I’ve found that Allan Holdsworth’s compositional ideas are as otherworldly as his guitar playing. The combination of the two can sometimes be too much […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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In some ways, the music in The Eleventh House is surprisingly simple, especially harmonically.
Most of The Funky Waltz is one chord, with a melody which is pentatonic. Low-Tee-Tah, despite the ornamental flourishes of Larry Coryell, essentially revolves around a dominant 7th augmented 4th chord. Similarly, Yin is based on a […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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The knock on Enigmatic Ocean, as indeed on all of Jean Luc Ponty’s fusion releases, as that they’re kind of mindless. Basically, what you have here are endless R&B vamps, connected together with catchy little through composed themes, and lots of rock based blowing, either pentatonic or scalar, from Ponty and […]

JAZZBONOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Season Of Changes is an very innovative release, flying in the face of prevailing fashion in the jazz world.
Most jazz releases from young musicians these days are slavishly devoted to hip hop rhythms. There’s nothing of the kind to be found on Season Of Changes, which is doubly surprising considering that the […]

JAZZBONOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Floating Point is one heck of an odd album. John McLaughlin has said that on Floating Point, he is paying tribute to his fusion roots, but he’s being too modest.
In a way, the band he’s fielding on Floating Point is the inverse of Shakti. To prepare for Shakti, McLaughlin immersed himself in […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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I Sing The Body Electric was the last hurrah for the founding edition of Weather Report before Joe Zawinul started to emphasize R&B rhythms and simpler structures, but what a way to go out!
Zawinul and company are painting on a much larger canvas than on their debut recording. The opener, Unknown […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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How do I defend giving Offering status as an essential recording? Sure, there’s Steve Marcus’ burning Coltranesque lines on tenor sax; Larry Coryell offers a convincing blend of rock and jazz stylings on guitar, avoiding the more egregious rock cliches that he was often prone to; Mike Mandel is mostly tasteful […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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One way to think of Blue Montreux is a cross between the Brecker Brothers and Steps Ahead. It’s got Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker on sax and trumpet respectively, and vibist Michael Mainieri, the impetus behind Steps Ahead. Blue Montreux is a unique fusion record: it’s got a heavy funk […]

WORTH A LISTEN
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For a long time now, listening to each new Chick Corea recording has been a frustrating experience, and To The Stars is no exception.
Obviously, Corea’s abilities as a pianist have not diminished in the slightest since the glory days of the late 60s and early 70s. On To The Stars, Corea writes […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
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Infinite Search (AKA Mountain In The Clouds) may not be one of the most influential fusion albums ever made, but it is one of the best.
It says something about the strength of Vitous’ vision that his is the dominant voice in a band that consists of guitarist […]