ASSEMBLER

This sure is a talented band. Not that I know much about bassist Tom Kennedy (I haven't heard any Planet X albums yet) and drummer Kim Plainfield, other than the other Bill Connors albums I own. But Connors and his band seem to be channelling Allan Holdsworth and his groups on this album. From the compositions, to the guitar tones and phrasing, just about everything sounds like it could be a Holdsworth album.

The Holdsworth references aside, this is a pretty good album. The bass and drum playing is sharp all the way through, and the music has lots of twists and turns, keeping it interesting throughout.

My only complaint is that all of the songs are mostly jamming. There seems to be very little of the band playing written parts, just solos over the complex chord progressions.

Still, 4 stars.

Jazz fusion guitar fans will recognize Connors as that blazingly explosive and technically precise legato guitarist in Return to Forever who left after one release to pursue a quieter acoustic guitar path. Connors has always been ranked in the upper echelons of fine fusion axe-men. Yet the guitar releases from Connors have come slowly and been severely underappreciated. After leaving Return to Forever, Connors released three excellent acoustic albums in the '70s, did some work with Stanley Clarke on Clarke's solo releases, and played with the Jan Garbarek Group. Connors then returned to releasing hard-hitting yet elegantly soulful electric fusion guitar albums in the '80s. They comprised a shorter, LP-length format, offering sonic snippets of Connors' electric visions. Comparisons can easily be made between this release's guitar stylings and those of Allan Holdsworth. This is not surprising, as Holdsworth has always sought that horn sound and flow of John Coltrane, and Connors, too, idolizes Coltrane. Convergent evolution perhaps? Connors has more of a rocking and visceral, edgy attack than Holdsworth. His legato phrasing is totally different, as well as his guitar voicings. Connors also has a lean funky, syncopated groove going on in his compositions; he demonstrates he is a guitarists' guitarist with evident passion for his instrument. Assembler marked the final electrified release of this fusion CD offering of the '80s. Assembler saw an initial 1987 release and then this 1994 re-release on the Evidence label.