JAIME ROSAS

"Primera Luz" Breakneck organ and other keyboards race against bass and drums. As a demonstration of keyboard skill, this excels, but does so at the expense of compositional charm. Halfway through, the vocals emerge, but do so in a quiet piano passage that feels tacked onto the keyboard showmanship. Otherwise, it's an exhausting exhibition of rapid-fire and grainy organ.

"El Principio Del Ritmo" This is a glaring contrast to what came before. Lounge bar piano runs and jazz chords are performed over a simplistic progression.

"Buenos Momentos" Don't get too comfortable with that last number- this returns to mile-a-minute soloing, this time with a guest on lead guitar. The bass solo is a growling treat, however brief.

"Lejos" A more melodic approach, with hushed guitar and vocals, takes center stage here. That jazzy piano makes another appearance.

"Memoria" Here is something more akin to a jam, with the guitarist and keyboardist trading leads over a Pink Floyd-like backdrop.

"Flashback" While what has come before has been firmly on the side of progressive rock bombast or smooth jazz, the title track delves into New Age placidity and progressive electronic music while returning to ELP-inspired pomposity. It's more of a hodgepodge of ideas glued together into one concluding track.

''Extremos'' is basically following the same matrix as ''Virgo'', although the presence of Godoy offers some more pronounced guitar parts in the place of symphonic-oriented keyboard themes.More than half of the tracks are dedicated to the sequel of ''Breva Pieza Rockera'', presented in the first album, although this time the different movements are sparse placed throughout the release.Rosas still remains the leading figure, offering lots of EMERSON-ian piano and keyboard pyrotechnics, focusing on a balanced effort between Classical touches and pompous deliveries, however his new effort lacks the instant melodies of his first one, presenting a more technical album full of sharp synth fanfares, which are surrounded by Godoy's angular guitar plays.A couple of more romantic sounding pieces with elegant piano interludes and atmospheric textures in general breeze some fresh air throughout, while his most ambitious composition is definitely the closing 15-min. ''Viajero Astral'', the only track featuring some vocals, split between Symphonic and Heavy Rock, with incredible organ fanfares, more ambiental soundscapes and eventually a few good melodies.Virtuosity is not absent either with Rosas torturing his keyboards once more in the vein of KEITH EMERSON.

Somewhat less solid than his debut, still this Jaime Rosas' album has plenty of great moments to be labeled as recommended.Essential for fans of keyboard-based Progressive Rock albums.

Musically we're dealing with a slightly perplexing band here. The keyboards are at the heart of the matter at most times, and one can easily understand the references to ELP as an important influence. When it comes to swirling, challenging and technical abilities at the tangents Rosas knows very well what he's doing, and appears equally at ease playing gentler keyboard passages, bombastic organ sequences or tightly paced keyboard excursions with more of a shredding character to them. Harmony constructions tightly interwoven with the guitar another strong presence, as are the keys used in a more subservient manner when the guitar is given the limelight.

In expression this is a band that roams most corners of the symphonic art rock universe. Even gentler, atmospheric passages, although they are in a clear minority. But tight, energetic performances with a certain bombastic tendency are plentiful. Often harder edged, occasionally verging on progressive metal in style. And while guitars and keyboards dominates throughout, bass and drums puts up a firm and solid foundation. Occasionally reminding me of the rhythm section of 70's Camel in style, but more intense.

The vocal passages of these songs can be a so-so affair, but whenever this act hits an instrumental section to explore they are generally at their best. The two epic compositions both worth mentioning as positive assets in this regard, and even more so the four selected pieces from their "Breve Pieza Rockera" series of tracks, most of which are delightful experiences.

By and large a good quality live production, documenting a strong performance by one of the harder edged symphonic progressive rock artists. A production worth considering of you tend to enjoy material of this nature, and especially if you enjoy listening to them performed live obviously. The recording quality is of good quality too, in case someone might wonder about that.

Remember the brief rock pieces that he created in his debut album? Well, he continued with them for his second album, which is actually the first with the trio line-up. Now Jaime Rosas, Rodrigo Godoy and Alex von Chrismar represent the Jaime Rosas Trio, with the album entitled "Extremos". Here we will find nine songs. Five of them have the titled of "Breve Pieza Rockera" continuing with the previous album's numeration; two tracks are named "Sonido Vital (1 and 2)" while the last tracks have different names, which I'll tell you later. All together make a total time of 42 minutes.

So "Breve Pieza Rockera VI and VII" start the album. I liked he started with them because it is like the continuation of his debut, so we keep track on it. This couple of pieces is short but vertiginous, just as the previously released, the difference here is that they are performed by two other members, rather than Rosas himself, and we can notice it with the introduction of a guitar, in the second one. This two songs lead to "Sonido Vital 1" (Vital Sound One) whose piano sound is fast an addictive at first; later it makes a short stop and the intensity decreases a little bit. This is a Jaime Rosas solo track.

Immediately after, the brief rock pieces return with its eighth and ninth faces. Here the other musicians return, of course, as well as the symphonic oriented prog. Here is the first time we can listen to the drummer showing off a little bit, while keyboards and bass work in the same scale. In "B.P.R. 9" a heavier tune appears thanks to the guitar riff and the almost always fast drumming. I said almost because it briefly slows down after two minutes, though it later returns to its rocker essence. So it is turn of the next track, and "Sonido Vital 2" begins. This is a longer and more elaborate track which starts slowly, but little by little is progressing. Here, as you can imagine, the song is performed only by Rosas.

The last "Breve Pieza Rockera (X)" starts with that energetic and bombastic sound that characterizes this collection. Later a song entitled "Tiempos de Paz" appears with a nice combination of keyboards, creating a soft classical-new age-progressive song (you can laugh at my description). And it leads to the only long track of this album, which happens to be the last one. It is entitled "Viajero Astral" and lasts 15 minutes, in which you will have a feast of keyboards, mixed with some spacey atmospheres and rockier moments. This is the only track here with vocals (in Spanish), which adds dynamism to the music; this is also the only song composed by the three members of JRT, and I dare say, the most ambitious track of the whole album.

"Extremos" is a good album, with a predominant use of short tracks, contrasted with the last long one, however, I believe the trio did not push at their best, or I don't know, the album did not click with me as I expected, after listening to the great debut album. That is why my grade here is lower, three stars.

Enjoy it!

A strong and promising debut!

Is what Jaime Rosas offers with his first solo album released in 2003 and entitled "Virgo", an album in which we can appreciate the evident talent that this trained musician from Chile has. It comprises eleven compositions, though four of them belong to a block named "Sinfonía", and five to this kind of collection called "Breves Piezas Rockeras". The album as a whole lasts 58 minutes, it was fully composed and arranged by Jaime Rosas, so please put attention to him.

It opens with "Plegaria", a six-minute track which has a slow-tempo base, in which keyboards manage to create everything, I mean, atmosphere, nuances, textures, etc. It is a nice introductory track, though the best is coming later in the album. However, as I said, this is only an introduction which shows us part of his talent anyways.

From track 2 to 5 we will find the symphonies, simply entitled "Sinfonía 1, 2, 3, and 4". The first one is the longest with 13 minutes length, and here the keyboard feast begins. Jaime Rosas brings a wonderful mixture of emotions and passages, changes throughout the whole song that in spite of its differences, work perfectly together. The symphonic prog sound is inhenert in Rosas' music, and what better example than naming a bunch of tracks as "Sinfonías", so go figure, it also talks about his classical music skills and trains. By the way, worth mentioning is that the music here (with the exception of one track) is completely instrumental.

"2" starts in a much softer way, and continues with that tranquility for the whole track; the music re is really calm, gentle and charming so one can feel relaxed and with peace here. I suggest using good headphones if you want to truly appreciate the variety of elements added here, because there is a vast amount. Though keyboards is what always predominate, it is nice to listen to the bass lines and drums (all created by the same Rosas) that complement the music. "3" is the shortest of these symphonies, but it is vertiginous since the first seconds. Later it is progressing little by little, with fore and back keyboards while bass and drums appear once again. Finally the fourth ("4") finishes with this batch of tracks. It creates a dark and tense atmosphere that prevails during the seven minutes, though in the last two with the entrance of drums the mood and rhythm changes a little bit.

"Lluvia" is the only song with lyrics, sung by Jaime Scalpello. After some 40 seconds of introductory piano and keyboards, the voice appears and complements the music, creating together a warm, soft and delicate sound. The song flows and continues like this until its very end. It was nice to have a non-instrumental track on the album.

The last five pieces belong to this group named "Breves Piezas Rockeras" something like "brief rock pieces", and they all have the same name, only with the respective number. And these are actually short tracks, the five together make only 12 minutes of music, however, one can have a vertiginous yet involving trip while listening to them. Fast and bombastic keyboards in moments; some softer passages; symphonic progressive rock with some heavier touches, is what we will find in this five-piece collection.

And with it "Virgo" finished, making a great debut of this Chilean prodigy. My final track will be four well-earned stars.

Enjoy it!

Jaime Rosas is a trained and talented musician from Chile, who has been involved in several musical projects through his career. I could see him on stage some years ago at Baja Prog Fest with his band Entrance, but I did not know his solo work. So with some luck I could meet him some days ago, had a great talk and received his music which I have really enjoyed so far. So in this 2011 he released a new album, entitled 'Flashback' which reunites six compositions in which Jaime had been working in the past.

And I will quote him: 'It is a 'greatest hits' CD of never-recorded (and sometimes never- composed) music. During this process, I have rediscovered several worlds which I had previously abandoned, I have been able to discover new ones and it has been an excellent opportunity to meet old and new friends'. So with this, we can understand that it is a very personal album to him, which surely encourage him to finish it and make its high-quality songs. As I said, it comprises six compositions making a total time of 53 minutes. It starts with the longest and probably most complex and ambitious track, a 20-minute song entitled 'Primera Luz', in which we will listen to bombastic keyboards, fast-tempo rhythm, a wonderful and elaborated bass, and a constant drumming. Here we can easily appreciate the compositional and technical skills of Rosas, his Hammond solos are mind-blowing, they don't let you escape once you are inside the song.

The first half of the track is instrumental, with those fast moments full of keyboard explosions; while the second is calmer, with the introduction of a male voice, synthesizers creating background and a melancholic feeling. However, after 15 minutes the song changes and turns once again into a bombastic keyboard feast, creating the omniscient symphonic sound, but adding a kind of heavy-prog touch. What a wonderful way to start the album, I was impressed since the first time I listened to it, because it is really, really good.

'El principio del ritmo' highly contrasts with the previous one. Here you will find a delicate piano full of tranquility and peace, accompanied by a bass and a guitar, creating a relaxing and delicious jazzy song. It is nice how he decided to intercalate these two completely different songs, but someone said 'after the storm comes the calm'.

But don't say victory, because after that calmer song, Jaime Rosas returns once again with an explosive one. 'Buenos Momentos' begins fast and heavy, closer to symphonic metal, but what I like is that later a combination of styles appear, with the guitar the music sounds rockier, with the bass a bit funkier, and with the Hammond solos closer to the symphonic prog styles of old monsters such as Wakeman or Emerson. This is the shortest track, but an excellent one nonetheless.

Once again, a notable change in rhythm and mood. 'Lejos' begins with a soft guitar riff and seconds later vocals appear, creating a delicate and ballad-like track. The piano sound is warm and charming, the guitar emotional, however, after those first three outstanding tracks, this one sounds a bit weaker, which does not mean it is bad, not at all, it is only my least favorite song of the album.

'Memoria' is on the other hand, a favorite of mine. This is a six-minute instrumental song with a wonderful structure that little by little is involving you. Here I would like to highlight the guitar work, with constant riffs and a protagonist role, great work of Ignacio Ruiz. And of course, the keyboard playing of Rosas is once again excellent. This song is easy to love, with me it was like love at first sight, and every time I listen to I truly enjoy it.

Finally the title-track, 'Flashback' is the song that finishes the album, here we will have the last ten minutes of this journey to the past. And the song actually starts like that, with all those noises, I imagine being inside one's mind and getting loads of memories for a split second, something really fast. But later the song calms down and I still imagine the memories, but this time in a state of tranquility and relaxation. In the CD booklet we can see a collage of images, which in my opinion reflects what this particular track shares. After some minutes that tranquility disappears and a sort of chaotic electronic sound appears, reminding me a bit of Tangerine Dream, but with some orchestral arrangements that put a different and own sound. Excellent final song!

What a great album by Jaime Rosas, with works like this, his music will surely reach more people and get positive criticism. I highly recommend it. Easily, four stars.

Enjoy it!

So let's check all 6 tracks included on this disk:

1. "Primera luz" - album begins with definitely the strongest composition - 20 minutes long suite called "Primera luz". This track is a really orgy of mindblowing Hammond organ solos & other ultra-fast passages played in absolutely virtuosic manner. Overall style and those percussion organ effects makes it like XXI century version of ELP's "Tarkus" but treating it like a simple copy would be very unjust for Rosas as he also managed to mix many other influences as in few slower fragments we can also hear some Rick Wakeman inspired synthesizer moments and in many ways "Primera luz" was also clearly influenced by another South American group - "Nexus". As I mentioned, hard-hitting organ is a dominant instrument here but synthesizers (often Moog-like sounding, but I think all gear of Rosas is in fact digital, I'm not sure) and piano surely aren't absent too, so in general it's a real prog heaven for such keyboards-driven music aficionados like me. I'd like to add that just like "Tarkus", this epic is mostly instrumental but in the middle there are also a brief vocal sections of Jaime Scalpello (in Spanish language) which are quite nice and touching. I want to stress that drums and bass work are competent too, but Jaime's pyrotechnics are so astonishing that you hardly think about other things than his keyboards. In the end I need to point one more thing: ultra memorable section which begins from 15:20 minute. This overwhelming, almost Gothic-like Hammond melody is simply fantastic. I have goose bumps everytime I hear this grandiose part. It's this kind of stuff I always loved in Par Lind Project's (contemporary Swedish symphonic-prog band) music! Seems that if Jaime will manage to record more of such albums, he have a chance to replace Par Lindh's position of the most talented prog-rock keyboardist in XXI century. Brilliant!

2. "El principio del ritmo" - another track let as catch a breath after restless keyboards extravaganza of ""Primera luz". This time we can enjoy very sober, delicate smooth-jazz composition with simple instrumentation: acoustic piano + relaxed sounding electric guitar. Nothing midblowing but it's a good rest after first 20 minutes of "Flashback". And surely it's very original for this artist.

3. "Buenos momentos" - Jaime and his friends come back to bombastic style! This time Javier Sepulveda provides lots of heavy guitar riffs which blend perfectly with Rosas' swirling organs. Electric guitar makes "Buenos momentos" sound a bit more like Entrance music, but thanks to dominating keyboards we're still sure that it's true symphonic style here (however mixed with heavy prog and prog-metal). Once again I want to praise Jaime for his ear-shuttering Hammond sounds here, they truly cut the air like a hatchet! I think that he listened to Nexus music a lot before recording this composition, and Moti Sakuraba could be another strong influence here. By the way, Moog fragments are also amazing here!

4. "Lejos" - if I had to pick up the weakest track on "Flashback" it would be this one. It's just a soft ballad with pre-dominant acoustic guitar, piano and discreet digital synthesizers in the background. Rodrigo Godoy's voice is surely nice, but in general this song doesn't bring me any emotions I'm afraid. Average.

5. "Memoria" - after slightly dull song called "Lejos", comes much better instrumental "Memoria". While first half sounds similar to Pink Floyd (Gilmour inspired guitar soloing of Ignacio Ruiz), in the middle we have a great Hammond solo in the vain of Rick Wakeman's performance in "Close to the Edge". After that guitar kick in again and smoothly lead as to the end of the song.

6. "Flashback" - the last composition seems to be an epic, but in fact it sounds more like a collage of different music ideas. Especially the beginning is quite mysterious and experimental in its nature. There are different famous melodies of 70s prog-rock giants played on Hammond organ (in one point you can even hear a brief part of Jon Lord's organ solo from "Child in Time"!) which are buried under much louder soundscapes built by digital synthesizers. After that there is atmospheric, slow-tempo section with angelic-choir-like synth-background and "lazy" keyboard "plumping". I'd say that it's quite similar to J.M.Jarre's or Vangelis' progressive-electronic style. But from 5th minute composition picks up the tempo significantly and we enter grandiose fanfare-synthesizers created symphonic wall of sound, which is quickly followed by unbelievably dynamic organ soloing in the vain of the best moments of Keith Emerson! Track finishes with a couple of minutes of baroque-like symphonic prog a la Rick Wakeman, but in the end there is a very humorous oddity as we hear alarm clock and angry yell of suddenly awaken guy! Seems he just had a dream about good, old 70s prog-rock and some God-damned alarm woke him up :-).

In general, "Flashback" is a fantastic recording which is a must have for all fans of retro symphonic progressive rock music, rooted deeply in 70s. In fact, I have to admit that while this kind of style may be "an art just for art" for many people, for me it's still a classic 'cos I'm a big admirer of keyboards-led prog and nothing will change it! That's why (so far...) 4th studio recording of Jaime Rosas immediately became by favorite album of this (2011) year. And I don't care if elitists of modern music call it "regressive"...

There's a long list of bands I can compare with Jaime Rosas, like: ELP, Trace, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Sixty-Nine, The Nice, Duncan Mackay, Trikolon or Quill, and their modern "imitators" like Par Lindh Project, Nexus, Little Tragedies, Survival, Gerard, Ars Nova, Social Tension and early Combination Head.

Best tracks: "Primera luz" and "Buenos momentos"

Full-blown 5 stars from ozzy_tom

Jaimie Rosas is undoubted one of the best keyboardists (is that an English word ?)..... make that; tangent player in this scene. He is on par with the profesionally universities educated tangent players from ex USSR, Rick Wakeman and in particular; Keith Emerson. He is in the Keith Emerson mould too when he paints big synth pictures in his compositions. Minimalism is not what he is a fan of. ELP fans can safely order his albums and in particular; his live album.

In my reviews of that album and two other studio albums, I have also mentioned Dream Theater as the second reference source. Which was true for those albums. But Jaimie Rosas has changed tack on this album and put/showed Dream Theater to the background. I do not know if the title of the album; Flashback, gives me a clue there. I need to ask him, in fact, because that is a question that is almost keeping me awake during my work now. But.... This album is far more a flashback to older scenes than the one inhabitated by Dream Theater. Yes, ELP and the 1970s symph prog scene. But Jaimie Rosas has introduced a lot of more tender, pastoral melodies into this album. A lot of this album actually takes a lot from the Rock Progressivo Italiano scene. In fact; a lot from Angelo Branduardi. That is something I never ever expected from Jamie Rosas. But it is a step in the right direction. Santiago moves to Rome.

This album still have a lot of those big symphonic prog ELP like aural paintings, but now also with some Rock Progressivo Italiano elements too. That summarises this album which also includes a 20 minutes long suite called Primera Luz.

The above mentioned Primera Luz is the best track on this album. But the rest of this album is also absolute great. This album is not an immediate hit, though. It takes time (yes, the dreaded term "takes time"). His melodies always sneaks up on you and then takes over. Then you starts to hum them at work. I am at that stage now.

In short; Jaimie Rosas has again delivered a great album. An unexpected, but great album. Maybe he has come of age. A piece like El Principio Del Ritmo feels like it could had been done by an old fox in the jazz scene.

In short; a very varied album with a wide variety of music and his best studio album so far.

4 stars

An album is a collection of something. Either photos or music. Some of the photos has very different images. From people to pictures of buildings and landscapes. Somehow, I associate Extremos with an album of many pictures. The reason for this association is that the album is very varied......... and somewhat disjointed.

The cuarteto is a trio on this album. Which gives Jaime Rosa extra space to really show what he can. And there is no doubt that he is one of the best tangent players in the progressive rock scene today. He is firmly in the Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman mould. Unfortunate, he is also transgressing into Yngwie Malmsteen territory on this album too. And that is not a compliment, btw.

What I mean with that is that there is too many solos on this album and not enough music. Jaime Rosas is not alone in this solos overkill too. The guitarist Rodrigo Godoy too is guilty here.

Music wise, the album is the usual Jaime Rosas Cuarteto's blend of Dream Theater and ELP. Which is excellent music....... as long as the spirit of Yngwie Malmsteen is not getting dragged into it. And that's my main gripe here. Extremos is Jaime Rosas weakest album by a country mile. The best song here is Viajero Astral. But there is no real bad song here. Just a bit too many solos where more focus on the melodies would had been a better solution.

If you want to really experience one of the best tangent player on this planet and his excellent band, check out the Jaime Rosas Cuarteto live album.

3 stars

Their live album is an excellent album and it made me thirsty for more music from this band. Creciendo is their third album, and the reputed best of the lot. I have yet to find out if this is true or not, but I will come back to that later this year with my reviews of the two other albums.

I wrote in my review of the live album that Jaimie Rosas Cuarteto is a blend of ELP and Dream Theater. This also holds true on this album. But I would say 70 % Dream Theater here and only 30 % ELP. The reason is that this album is pretty heavy and is verging on being prog metal. Well, many would call this prog metal. I am not a big fan of prog metal, but I still rate Dream Theater as one of my all time favorite bands. So this album leaves me happy. I like the sound.

The mix of Jaime Rosas tangents and Rodrigo Godoy & Javier Sepulveda guitars is also excellent. Yes, they sounds like John Petrucci. Yes, the band sounds like Dream Theater. But when Jaime Rosas is letting himself loose on the piano or the keyboards, he also sounds like Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman with their respective bands. That is the best of both worlds and the best parts of this album. Jaime Rosas is a big star on his instrument. An underrated star, that is.

The best track is by far the epic, eighteen long El Mito Del Eterno Retorno where the band plays out all their cards in one long game. My only gripe is the lack of any real killer tracks here. So this album is a very shaky four stars for me. I also suspect I will rather like this album more in some years time than I like it now.

4 stars