NIACIN

NIACIN were found around mid-90's by famous bassist Billy Sheehan (he has been a follower of rock artists like David Lee Roth and Steve Vai),keyboard virtuoso John Novello and well-known drummer Dennis Chambers (he has played with John McLaughlin,Steely Dan and Santana among others).The main aim of the trio was to mix perfectly the progressive rock's complexity with the jazz/fusion virtuosoty and that's what can be heard in their eponymous debut from 1996.

''Niacin'' features no guitars at all and the album is structured upon the deep musicianship of the drums/bass/keyboards rhythms and interplays.Not surprisingly ''Niacin'' is filled with Novello's keyboard sounds,especially the Hammond organ is all over the place,from nicely arranged grooves to endless soloing,but you can taste also some beatiful piano parts in here,where the music flirts intensively with straight jazz,soul and blues.Sheehan's bass lines are quite heavy,rich and complicated from the very first moments of this album and Chambers proofs why he has been a famous name in the jazz/rock market around the years with his careful and strong drumming.Sometimes the music is very close to a somewhat fusion side of E.L.P. or even better there are lot of moments where I recall SPOCK'S BEARD's instrumental parts listening to this one.''Niacin'' is a very pleasant album with strong individual performances,nice breaks and changing moods,recommended to every fan of demanding instrumental rock.