NAPOLI CENTRALE

High quality Jazz-Rock Fusion coming out of Naples, Italy but they're not even half Italian! They're made up of one-and- a-half Americans (Mark Harris and American-fathered "James" Senese), a Brit (Anthony "Toni" Walmsley), and only one- and-a-half Italians (Franco Del Prete and the maternal half of Gaetano "James" Senese). This was the lineup that produced their wonderful debut album whereas successive studio releases in the 1970s would only be able to retain songwriter and band leader James and Franco.

1. "Campagna" (7:56) most excellent Jazz-Rock Fusion, very current/up-to-date with the music coming out of America at the same time, spiced up quite nicely by James Senese's vocals and the MANDRILL, OSIBISA, and CYMANDE-like African-like group/choir vocal chants. James' sax and vocals even have a little of DEMITRIO STRATOS and JAMES BROWN's swaggy confidence. The rhythm section of Franco Del Prete and Toni Walmsley are so tight, so in sync, that it gives Fender Rhodes/synth player Mark Harris a lot of confidence to do his own shining thing. A most excellent, even anthemic opener. (14.25/15)

2. "'A gente 'e bucciano" (8:42) despite the smooth, gentle opening, this one breaks into some great, dynamic music in the third minute--after James' brief introductory vocal spurt--that is well rendered but is slightly diminished by James Senese's fair but not great vocal. (Why are the vocals on this song recorded so differently and more inconsistently than the other songs on the album? It's almost as if they were only added as an afterthought in the final production but never polished or processed with any care.) Toni's bass play is awesome--and I love how it's mixed so far forward in the sonicsphere. And Franco's drumming is right up there with Toni's as is Mark Harris's Fender Rhodes play. (17.625/20)

3. "Pensione floridiana" (3:32) horn section blow followed by repeated Fender Rhodes chord arpeggi open this before drums and bass join in and settle into a bluesy jazz-rock motif that sounds as if it should be the soundtrack theme for an American radio sitcom. Pleasant but almost innocuous. (8.875/10)

4. "Viecchie, mugliere, muorte e criature" (10:02) James Senese's raspy/gritty voice once again takes the forefront over this very solid Herbie Hancock music only, this time, it's quite fitting and winning--kind of in the same way that LE ORME's Aldo Tagliopietra and AREA's Dimitri could command the stage. I love his ballsy duel between his voice and his own saxophone in the fifth and sixth minutes. The band certainly does a great job of using multiple tracks to fill their sonic field. The ad nauseum repetition of the music tends to stagnate a little over time despite Mark Harris' excellent Fender Rhodes play and James' sax solos, spirited vocals, and multiple sax "horn section" track--most of which becomes more interesting in the song's wonderful final third. (17.75/20)

5. "Vico primo parisee n°8" (7:37) quite the dynamic bass lines on this Headhunters-like funk track! Everybody is playing at the top of their game: putting together a spirited Jazz-Rock Fusion tune that could mix right in there on any of Herbie's Headhunters albums. Mark and James also impress with their equally dynamic keyboard, sax, and whistle performances. In the second half they even manage to harken back to the earliest J-R Fusion masterpieces--like Bitches Brew! It's just such a great galloping groove--one that definitely puts on full display the talents/skills of all four of the musicians. (14.125/15)

6. "'O lupo s'ha mangiato 'a pecurella" (6:49) synth and sax play the melody-leading solos in the first minute of this more laid-back, spacious tune that reminds me of something from the earliest Weather Report albums. The melodies and weaves here are much simpler, sparse, and less familiar/pleasing to the radio/pop-trained Western ear. Even James' sax play is more similar to that of Wayne Shorter while the sparse note play from the independent musicians is constructed more harmonically, instead of melodically, like Weather Report. Then we run into the final two minutes with its percussion-supported street party "drunken" celebration before the band pulls back inside, into the studio, for a more tightly-performed closing. Interesting but, like the music of Weather Report, not my favorite expression of the panoply of idioms that make up Jazz-Rock Fusion. (13.25/15)

Total Time 44:38

There is a quality and style in the sound and music of this album that places me firmly in the 1972-74 period of ever- transitional Jazz-Rock Fusion being created by American Herbie Hancock and his late Mwandishi and early Headhunters periods.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of mature, more-than-competent Jazz-Rock Fusion. Recommended to all lovers of Peak Era (Third Wave) Jazz-Rock Fusion.

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