ON THE RAW

Good to finally spend sometime with this one. I remember spinning it late in 2017 and being impressed with the sound quality and depth of sound, very rich sounding for a modern album. A five piece from Spain with the usual instruments plus synths, flute and sax. Typically the sax, flute, guitar or keyboards of some sort solo over the bass, drums and more. We get five guest vocalists all singing late on the closer both male and female. Those are the only vocals on here.

I really like that title track which opens the album, especially the way the song "slowly awakes" with plenty of atmosphere. The city is awake after 2 1/2 minutes. A nice heavy sound here. I like the way they use the flute and synths on this one. Guitar at 4 1/2 minutes then sax a minute later. This is a top four track for me along with "On The Raw" the band's name. Piano only to start brings Kevin Moore to mind but guitar, drums and bass join in quickly. Some moving guitar after 2 minutes with lots of depth. Synths, sax and guitar will solo after this, even some brief organ.

How about "Dreams In A Box" which opens with piano as drums and bass join in and some clapping I think. Sax is next as it builds with repetitive beats. Synths too. Guitar starts to soar 3 minutes in, so uplifting! Then back to that earlier sound after 4 minutes. Nice. Last top four is "Everything Will Come" and this might be my favourite, at least the way it starts. Again it's moving for me for whatever reason. This is warm and melodic with piano over top early on. So good. Picked guitar joins in then flute. It's all so good, thanks guys! It then brightens and perks up. Synths will lead then sax. Back to that warm sound with picked guitar then flute 5 minutes in. Some nasty keyboards come out of nowhere and a heavy sound. Where did these guys come from? Oh yeah Spain. Drums are great here as the songs ends in a powerful way.

Special mention to "Two Steps From Glory" and "Day 49". A very solid album that I highly recommend.

Very nice, if fairly mainstream, Jazz-Rock Fusion.

1. "Climbing the Air" (8:53) impressive skills but kind of boring and bringing nothing new to the world. (16/20)

2. "Red Roses" (4:43) nice chord arrangements and flute work. Earworm melodies. My favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)

3. "Resistance" (7:45) more straightforward Jazz-Rock Fusion with nice chord progression, nice drumming and sax play. Not enough change and/or drama. (13/15)

4. "Moneypenny" (7:58) opens with a movement based on some Hendrix-like guitar riff before bass solos with some bouncy keys and syncopated drums providing support before the trumpet arrives and takes over. (12.75/15)

5. "Herois" (8:25) almost MANHATTAN TRANSFER smooth jazz for the intro and vocal-infused first three minutes. Turns sentimental piano bar jazz for the mid-section. Overall, an odd mish-mash of themes--yet, containing very pleasant melodies. Another top three song. (17/20)

6. "Blackmail" (6:56) organ-based uptempo blues jazz intro turns more rock at the 30 second mark. The organ remains important throughout but there are downtempo sections with sonorous DAVE SANBORN-like sax interspersed as well. (12.5/15)

7. "Skeptic" (8:44) has a MAD CRAYON Preda sound and feel to it from the start. A lack of vocals manages to keep it in the jazz-rock realm. Nice STEELY DAN-like keyboard sounds until Hammond solo in the fourth minute. Overall, another interesting late-evening Mini Cooper ride through la vieille ville. (17/20)

Total Time: 54:24

Though blessed with modern sounds, nicely creative ideas, and very proficient musicianship, the music here feels as if a rehash (or updating) of late 1970s/1980s smooth jazz themes. Nothing to get too excited about except for good, enjoyable music.

It isn't often that you come across an album like this: immediately enjoyable but requiring multiple listens to be fully appreciated. I had not come across this Spanish band before seeing their entry in the PA Top 2019 albums and, on the strength of this, I shall definitely be checking out their debut album, Big City Awakes. This is mostly instrumental (with occasional backing vocals) jazz fusion of the most accessible kind due to the quality of the underlying melodies. Seven tracks of foot-tapping, up-tempo jazz rock with fine musicianship that leaves you wanting more. One of the best albums so far this year and definitely five stars as far as I am concerned.

"On the Raw" is a jazz fusion band from Barcelona, Spain. They released an album in 2017, and their 2nd full length album is "Climbing the Air" released in February of 2019. The line-up for this album includes Jordi Prats on guitars, Jordi Amela on keyboards, Pep Espasa on sax and flute, Toni Sanchez on bass and Alex Ojea on drums. With only one exception, all of the tracks are around the 7 - 9 minute mark.

The album starts with the title track "Climbing the Air", which starts off with atmospheric electronic effects which suddenly gets interrupted by a fast bass line and a drum pattern to match. Brass and guitar take on the primary melody with some keyboards taking a solo early on before returning to the theme. The track then mellows out a bit and after a secondary theme, guitar and sax play a relaxed vibe to match the softer percussion. Later, it builds quickly and the sax takes it to a more intense feel. Around 6 minutes, things get really interesting with a sudden change moving to a very upbeat tropical feel with flute, hand drums and an island vibe in the keyboards with the guitar providing a nice solo and later a trumpet provided by guest Samuel Garcia.

"Red Roses" is a definite progressive jazz vibe with a complex rhythm pattern in the bass, piano and drums. The flute provides the melody and later some improvisation in fine fashion with a hard foundation generated by guitars and piano. "Resistance" follows the same style with a heavy bass line in 7 / 8. A sax comes in improvising on a theme as the foundation continues. The jazz / rock fusion is quite on point on this track. Next, after a bit of development, the guitar takes on the solo. After each section, there is a progressive section where each time, the track is further developed. Then we get synths and violin (again by Samuel Garcia) in a quarrel that generates some wicked energy. Things cool down a bit when the sax brings the theme back and then holds a conversation with the guitar.

"Moneypenny" begins with heavy guitar and the sound of high heels walking, and immediately this goes into a somewhat funky foundation and the trumpet takes over. The sexiness of the track continues when the bass plays a sneaky pattern as a voice over from a Bond film plays, and, of course, just as you suspected, this continues in its sly way paying homage to the character the track is named after. Later, a cool drum pattern ushers in a nice guitar solo. Without really taking the obvious route with the homage to the Bond protagonist, it does it slyly, with a mysterious, yet victorious feeling but not necessarily sounding like a take on a Bond theme.

"Herois" combines bass and flute playing together at first, then separating into their own parts. This track is more downbeat with minimal percussion, letting the bass take the rhythm at first, but the drums do kick in later staying at a moderate rhythm. Some interesting scat-style, layered vocals (provided by guest Cristina Falcinella) come in and play around with the bass line, then later, wordlessly enhance the flute. Suddenly, things become really minimal with a pinging sound and then a soft piano comes in by itself, playing a lovely theme and improvisation. Later, the piano creates a riff to bring back more intensity as the band comes back a bit at a time, then a rhythm guitar gets the original sound going again with wordless vocals to add atmosphere. Guitar and piano do a call-and-answer style improvisation, then the sax does its thing, but now the vocals have become synth generated.

"Blackmail" has a 70's style vibe with bass and organ playing a groovy foundation over which a guitar establishes a theme helped by the organ and a soulful background. Then the saxophone improvises over the foundation. This later calms to a smoother and jazzier sound. Sax and then guitar improvise over this smoother vibe. Everything intensifies a bit as the guitar continues. Then the drums and funky scratches start to bring back the original vibe under the direction of the flute improvising all over the top of the foundation. Then the organ, flute, guitar and brass work together to bring everything back again.

"Skeptic" is the last track. This album has been so enjoyable, it's hard to believe the last track has come around already. A nice moderately-andante rhythm is established and sax and guitars control the thematic elements and where the song is going. Things calm a bit as the bass takes over. Then it all returns again, heavier this time. There is some development as the music moves to another section this time led by the organ and then the guitar takes over later. Intensity increases. There is a sudden shift when the rhythm moves to a soft swing style rhythm with bass alone at first and then joined by the sax. Again there is an increase in intensity as a fuzzy guitar takes over and starts to wail a bit. Things go suddenly quiet with an acoustic guitar, flute and mellotron finish things off in a soft manner.

Now, this is my kind of jazz fusion, where things have thematic elements in each track, but there is a wide variety of improvisation and variation that moves smoothly from one section to another in each individual track. There is so much to this music that keeps it all interesting and dynamic, and everything just keeps moving, never really stagnating or getting stuck in repetitive foundations or styles, yet each section develops very well. The balance here is amazing and the band's timing is spot on. I have to say that this is the best jazz fusion album I have heard this year and it will definitely be a best pick for 2019. This is how it's done! Variety, dynamics, a bit of humor, a lot of surprises, yet its all done with a strong thematic style, yet without letting the theme overrule the direction of where each track is going to go. Perfect!

I found this album on Bandcamp and bought a download. There is a lot of instrumental or largely instrumental prog/jazz/fusion around these days, much of which is well played but, unfortunately, not very memorable. What attracted me to this is the sense of melody and the strength of the compositions. In addition it isn't over-produced in the way that too much stuff is today. It is nice to be able to hear each instrument clearly, rather than through layer upon layer of synthesised keyboards.

Parts of it have similar appeal to Spyro-gyra or some of Larry Carlton's late 70's-early 80's albums. Though it is melodic, it certainly isn't anodyne. Kraan also comes to mind. A good four star effort.