JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

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The first time I heard One of A Kind, I thought I was witnessing the creation of an entirely new type of fusion. As it turned out, I was wrong, but One of A Kind remains one of the greatest fusion recordings of all time.

One of a Kind and the Bruford’s preceding album, Feels Good to Me, are basically extensions of the Canterbury progressive rock sound, as exemplified by Hatfield and the North and National Health.

Not surprisingly, Dave Stewart, the keyboardist of those two bands, is a key member of Bruford’s band. Guitarist Allan Holdsworth is no stranger to the Canterbury sound either, having played in such groups as Gong and Soft Machine. Rounding out the group is Jeff Berlin, whose bass playing is distinguished as much by its lyricism as its virtuosity.

The end result pushes past progressive rock into the realm of fusion by dint of an increased emphasis on improvisation and the virtuosity of the members of Bruford’s band, especially Allan Holdsworth and Jeff Berlin.

However, One of a Kind is about as far from a blowing session as you could possibly get. The tunes are a seamless weaving of pop songcraft, sophisticated arranging, and instrumental pyrotechnics.

Hell’s Bells starts off with a seemingly simple melody, but the time signature is a tricky 19/16, which the band makes seem easy and natural. Then Holdsworth comes in with a supremely melodic solo in a low register before a brief burst of fireworks. After the solo, the band segues into a funk section before returning to the theme, over which Stewart improvises in an unostentatious but lovely fashion.

In fact, beauty and lack of ostentatiousness are characteristic of Stewart’s work on the entire recording. His playing is always tasteful and melodic, but he never shows off his considerable chops just for the sake of doing so. His keyboard sounds shimmer, glide, or ring, as the occasion demands. Almost 30 years after the fact, nothing about One of a Kind sounds dated, with the possible exception of some of Bruford’s synth drums.

The tune One of A Kind is probably the best example of the protean arranging on this album. Without ever sounding technical or dry, the piece is gradually and organically built up in sections that flow into each other but seemingly have little logical connection to each other. Eventually, several of the sections fuse together, revealing their relationship in a stirring climax.

Travels with Myself and Someone Else is a gorgeous ballad with a more spirited central section over which Stewart solos. When the ballad theme returns, Holdsworth ends the tune with a majestic and emotional flurry of notes.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that the rest of the album is of a similarly exalted level of quality and creativity. For pop/rock/jazz fusion, it would be hard to improve on One of a Kind.

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