FULANO

This album is so entertaining thanks mostly to the female vocalist who is the star of this show, she's so theatrical and fun to listen to. The band plays a variety of styles including Jazz, Canterbury and Avant. They keep you on your toes that's for sure.

"Fulano" opens with an uptempo jazzy section with male vocals. She arrives vocally a minute in and absolutely shines. Keys take the spotlight for a while before the melody from the intro returns. Sax and bass are prominant. A calm before 3 1/2 minutes as it pretty much comes to a stop. Keys and higher pitched female vocals come in that really remind me of Zeuhl. This is fantastic ! A sax solo follows as she makes some vocal noises then starts to sing again. Nice. Zeuhl fans will love this. "Maquinarias" is full of intricate sounds like sax, bass, keys and drums.Clarinet after 1 1/2 minutes.This sounds so good before 3 minutes. Male vocals follow. Great track. "Tango" opens with drums as she starts to speak, she gets quite passionate before becoming theatrical. She's so good it makes me laugh. Bass and then sax join in. A catchy rhythm plays on as she puts on quite the show.

"Fruto Del Goce" is the longest track at 11 1/2 minutes. It takes it's time getting going as different sounds come and go with no melody for 4 minutes. Kind of experimental actually. Then smooth sax melodies and keys arrive.Vocals after 5 minutes. You can hear her laugh after she hits a high note 6 minutes in. Priceless. The bass becomes prominant in this song that really seems like an improv. It starts to get louder and more chaotic 9 minutes in. Then the sax starts to lead the way. Guitar 10 minutes in really rips it up as drums pound away. "Suite Recoleta" opens with drums as keys join in. Vocals follow, and as the tempo picks up her vocal pitch goes higher with piano and drums helping out. Sax 2 1/2 minutes in. She's back to her normal singing voice 4 1/2 minutes in. "El Calcetin Perseguido" features the same short melody being played over and over for a minute as different instruments show off including vocals. "1989..." is a bonus track I believe, as it is live and I assume from 1989. Brilliant i know. This is an uptempo track to start with sax playing over top. It stops dead 1 1/2 minutes in and begins again softly. It's dark as female vocals sound frightened as they build and become theatrical. So cool. Check her out before 4 minutes ! Vocal melodies after 5 minutes with piano. The tempo picks up 6 1/2 minutes in with sax leading the way. She's back a minute later. Some organ late.

This is even better than I thought it would be. It's been a tough one to find until recently. Get it while you can, you won't be disappointed.

3.5 stars...

A very famous band in Chile,FULANO were formed by a group of friends/musicians in Santiago in 1984.From the very first moment the band wanted to create something experimental and personal and the numerous rehearsals led to an eponymous album in 1987,initially released on cassete,re-realeased in 1994 on CD format.

FULANO are unquestionably a fusion band with a totally artistic point of view,blending Jazz with R.I.O.,Avant-Garde and rock.Equally split in fast tempo compositions and Avant-Garde/Jazz passages,the sound of FULANO is based on the strong interplays of the rhythm section and the wind instruments.Guitars are scarce and very distinctive,as the whole story unfolds around the HENRY COW-like heavy use of saxophones and the pleasant excurssions of the clarinet,played by Cristian Cristoso and Jaime Vasquez.These wind-based passages get even richer with the complicated bass work of Jorge Campos and the solid drumming of Guillermo Valenzuela.As for keyboards,there is a steady use of delicate electric piano as a supporting instrument,while the vocals of Arlette Jequier are fantastic,ranging from impressive wordless chords to expressive,theatrical lyrics.FULANO are not your typical Jazz-Rock ensemble.Their thetrical approach to Jazz makes them more than just interesting and anyone after some original Jazz-Rock/Fusion should definitely check them out.Strongly recommended!