JAZZ ROCK/FUSION

Over 71 minutes of wonderful folk-tinged instrumental jazz fusion from this seven-member jam band (and a whole mess of guests) from Finland. Throughout the album I enjoy the electric instruments like the bass and guitar as well as the drum kit drumming, but it is the traditional folk and classical instrumentation that really love: harp, violin and strings, xylophone, marimba and other hand percussions, flutes, and other woodwinds (sax, bassoon, clarinet). I also seem to enjoy the slower parts best--even though the album never gets going at break-neck speeds, they just have a brilliant way of magnifying the weave of melodies during the slower sections.

Album highlights include: the album's gorgeously scored opening suite, "Kuoriutuminen," Parts 1, 2 & 3 (10/10); the wonderfully Japanese-flavored suite, "Vesikko" (23:02) (10/10); 7. "Arabian Ran-ta" (10:00) with its wonderful shift at the 3:50 mark (9/10); the stepped down beauty of "Chinese Daydream, Part 1" (3:12) and then the shift into a higher gear for the brass-dominated "Part 2" (5:43) (8/10); the brassy, American jazz rock sounding, 4. "Different Realities" (11:14) (8/10), and; the pretty, if simple, harp-based, 11. "Lullaby" (4:22) (8/10).

There's a lot of music here, but it is all quite enjoyable and some of it compositionally masterful. Watching their live performances on YouTube I appreciate even more the jazz nature of these beautiful songs.

For this album Eberhard Weber debuted his short-lived backing band Colours. Saxnan and flute friend Charlie Mariano and keyboard wizard Rainer Brüninghaus had backed Weber on the preceding Yellow Fields; the ensemble was rounded out by John Marshall, who had just left Soft Machine. The blend of talents and backgrounds proves to be an apt one; Marshall, in particular, seems to benefit from working with a fresh new project, the Soft Machine having rather run its course by this point. The sound of the album seems to be solidly rooted in the ECM jazz style that had become Weber's trademark by this point, but the capable performances from all concerned keeps things interesting.

Eclectic fare from world traveller guitarist Gadi Caplan. Some songs are folk, some world (Indian), some pop, some jazz, a little infusion of Canterbury style, a lot of instrumental, several with pleasant vocals. A very pleasant journey. I found myself thinking of Roy Harper's Stormcock throughout my first listen to this material. Successive listens have slowly revealed the surprisingly wide diversitty in sounds and styles covered on this album--though throughout Gadi's electric guitar sound choices are always unusually clear, crisp, and concise--kind of like those of Roy Buchanan or Blue 'yster Cult's "Buck Dharma" Roeser in the 1970s.

1. "Hemavati" (3:42) is a wonderful horn-backed soft rock instrumental with beautiful, sensitive guitar play performing the lead in a way that is, to me, reminiscent of blues legend Roy Buchanan. (9/10)

2. "Island" (5:33) is a gorgeous little folk song in the style of 1990s STEVEN WILSON/ PORCUPINE TREE--one that makes you appreciate more the genius of SW in that time period. (9/10)

3. "Good Afternoon" (2:25) the only song on the album that I don't absolutely love, it's more in an acoustic blues style though quite reminiscent of some of HARRY NILSSON's songs, it continues to dsiplay Gadi's extraordinary skills in vocal arrangements, lead guitar play, and production. (7/10)

4. "Vivadi Swara" (5:39) opens as a pure ROY BUCHANAN song with acoustic guitar and synth providing sparse background support for the sensitive lead electric guitar work. At 1:38 the song opens up with strummed acoustic guitar, full band support and Gadi's whispery, jazzy lead vocal. I hear a little George Harrison in this one. Such stellar songwriting and production! A true gem! (9/10) 5. "Morning Sun" (4:14) a sparsely constructed folk song that truly feels like it came out of the mucis catalog of 1970s HARRY NILSSON or the introspective side of ROBERT WYATT or JEFF BUCKLEY. Extraordinary and beautiful! I love the wooden flute play, too. (10/10)

6. "La Morena" (5:46) opens gently but with vocals joining in almost immediately. The vocals are very beautifully executed--quite like Coldplay's CHRIS MARTIN. I love the BEATLES-like contribution of the violin and Gadi's finishing vocalizations. (9/10)

7. "The Other Other Side" (5:14) from my very first listen this song has been my favorite. A bit more dynamic and electric than the previous six songs, this one also has a little more diversity in way the accompanying instruments are presented. Sounding slightly PINK FLOYD-ish, slightly Hawaiian, though mostly Harry NILSSON and STEVEN WILSON-ish, this one has the gift of an extraordinary vocal and an awesome bluesy guitar solo in the final minutes. (10/10)

8. "Lili's Day, Pt. 1" (2:49) opens with quite an different, synth-dominated trip hoppy sound and feel--here bringing to mind some of the work of some of the early Post Rock bands (like Tortoise and Bark Psychosis). Great groove! (10/10)

9. "Lili's Day, Pt. 2" (2:28) continues the Post Rock sound with its great guitar weave while adding a Dick Parry-like breathy sax to take the lead. (9/10)

10. "Lili's Day, Pt. 3" (1:50) sees a shift in the music starting with the eery militaristic drumming, minor chord synths, and more sustain-effected guitar lead. (8/10)

11. "Lili's Day, Pt. 4" (2:37) shifts into a more straight rock mellow outflow with the violin and strings synths taking the dominant lead in presenting the melodies. (8/10)

A near-masterpiece of progressive rock music, this is a type of clear, clean, simply constructed song production I wish there was more of in this day and age. Beautiful. Do check it out. Highly recommended.

Man this album is like a warm blanket on a winter's night. Warm, breezy and always jazzy this album veers off into Proto- Prog territory at times which is maybe not so surprising since it was released in 1971. We get sax, clarinet, flute, organ and vibes besides the usual instruments. This is a melodic album with some excellent songs. It's really hard to believe that most Prog fans wouldn't really like this album.

The first three tracks are my top three just to get that out of the way. "Just like Stone" won me over right away with those almost southern rock harmonies bringing THE BAND and ALLMAN BROTHERS to mind. Organ to start then it kicks in with drums, piano and more. Vocals and bass before 2 minutes. I like the instrumental break before 3 1/2 minutes led by the flute, but the vocals return quickly. Some Ron Burgandy-like jazz flute before 4 minutes. What a great opener. "Don't Make Me Cry" opens with organ that brings to mind SUGARLOAF of all bands. Drums, bass and horn joins in. This is quite jazzy as they seem to jam here. Vocals arrive before 2 1/2 minutes singing "Don't make me cry" a few times before he sings other lyrics. Such a groovy sound here. A change before 3 1/2 minutes as piano, drums and bass lead before these passionate vocals kick in. Horns start to blast. The bass starts to walk as the organ and flute return before 5 minutes. Great sound. Piano to the fore at 6 1/2 minutes as the organ and flute stop. The flute is back around 8 minutes. Killer tune.

"Flying South In Winter" is an instrumental and it opens with sparse intricate sounds that come and go including flute reminding me of an orchestra practicing before a gig. It kicks into a flute led groove before 2 minutes. So good! Bass and percussion standout as well. Horns and organ join in before 3 minutes. Solo percussion before 5 minutes but it's brief as it kicks back in.

"Dreams" does have that dreamy sound to start, even the vocals sound that way off in the distance. It picks up each time on the chorus. A Proto-Prog vibe here, especially the harmonies. Fuzzed out guitar after 2 1/2 minutes during an instrumental break then it picks up sounding like a late 60's tune with those vocals. "You Make My Jelly Roll" is the one controversial track on here clocking in at almost 8 minutes. It's jazzy and humerous with the focus on the vocals and piano. It does sound sort of lame like a 50's hit or something. The bass is jazzy too and the horns will replace the vocals before 4 minutes in this prolonged instrumental break where the bass continues to walk and the piano tinkle. Vocals are back after 7 minutes. I don't mind this one as it's kind of charming in it's own way.

"Natural High Part 1" opens with solo piano melodies then the organ kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes followed by vocals, bass then drums. Horns too. Great sound before 2 minutes. What a fantastic instrumental section from before 2 1/2 minutes until after 5 minutes. It picks back up when the vocals return to this catchy groove. "Natural High Part 2" has these intricate sounds as vocal melodies come and go. He's pretty much scatting after a while. Flute joins in as well then the horns blast late to end it.

This is close to 4.5 stars, it's that good. Well worth checking out if you can.

This album saw Hiromi debut her current recording unit, the Trio Project, with Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips joining her on bass and drums respectively. Naturally, the spotlight is largely on Hiromi's piano and keyboard performances. Whilst subsequent albums would have a more prominent progressive rock influence, here it seems scaled back somewhat, the band focusing on delivering what comes across as an ECM-style jazz sound with enough fusion influences to avoid things becoming excessively dry. It's a good listen, but the unit would undertake more ambitious excursions on later albums, and is therefore worth a listen eventually but doesn't need to be your top priority when it comes to exploring Hiromi's work.

I'm a little surprised that there's no written reviews for this one, especially since it has been re-issued on cd at least once since the original album came out in 1973. And I thought for sure that Guldbamsen would have been one of the people to review it since he's from Denmark as well, but to go even further I thought that this might be his favourite record to come out of his great country. Why? Well, it's very humerous, adventerous and filled with personality. Clearly Frank Zappa and possibly SUPERSISTER were influences as this is quite jazzy and Canterbury flavoured. Besides the usual instruments we also get violin, vibes, trumpet, sax, moog, piano, flute, trombone and congas from this rather large band of around ten people or so.

"Opening" is the insane 25 minute suite which is divided into eleven sections, and they throw everything but the kitchen sink at us. Many feel this suite is too "all over the place" and disjointed but this is a top three track for me. It's entertaining if nothing else but to my ears it works. It's catchy to start with bass, vibes, drums, flute and more as the vocals join in. Insanity follows with spoken words then it kicks back in to that catchy sound. Guitar to the fore after 2 1/2 minutes then a drum solo before 4 minutes. A change before 5 1/2 minutes as a beat and horns lead the way. A calm a minute later with percussion and strummed guitar. Flute joins in at 7 minutes. Another change before 9 minutes and this is my least favourite part of the album with the fast paced vocals and sound along with that repetitive guitar melody. Another calm follows after 10 minutes with bass, drums, vibes and a jazzy sound. Keys too followed by horns. Nice section as the vocals join in. l love the guitar sound before 12 minutes and the electric piano that follows. It picks up with vibes and more. This is catchy and fun as the vocals and horns also join in. Hilarious vocals 15 minutes in, too funny. It then kicks back in with bass, vibes and horns. They're jamming now. The flute plays over top around 19 minutes in. Some strange laughter then what sounds like clavinet kicks in. A catchy section arrives after 21 minutes. So much going on, so many intricate sounds. Impressive! Vocals are back late to end it.

"Samelam- Samelam" is another catchy piece with horns, drums, guitar and bass standing out instrumentally. The vocals will come and go and the organ comes in late. "Entrees" features plenty of vibes and horns in this instrumental. "Spring- Time- Summer- Theme" is an energetic jam full of vibes, piano, drums, horns and more. I like this better than the previous instrumental. Catchy stuff and a top three for me. "In The Morning" is my final top three, in fact it's my favourite song on here. This has to be influenced by CARAVAN, this sounds so much like a CARAVAN track it's not funny, so uplifting. Even the vocals remind me of that great band. There's a flute solo half way through. It sucks that it's only 2 minutes long though. "Desserts: Flower- Picking- Prelude" opens with piano, bass, horns, drums and more. It picks up before a minute as the flute joins in but the tempo will change often. It becomes more determined a minute later with horns over top. Lots of percussion here as well. The guitar comes in lighting it up but it stops before 6 minutes as we get another change. The tempo picks up here and we get silly vocal melodies and more. Piano and the sound of birds ends it.

What a talented band, and they certainly had a lot of great ideas. A Prog lover's delight in my opinion. A solid 4 stars.

Radomir Mihajlovic hadn't meant to make another Smak album - especially after the creative blunder which was Rock Cirkus - but he accidentally did so anyway, as you might expect when the lineup here essentially consists of Smak minus its lead singer Boris Arandjelovic. This means that the album mixes instrumental tracks with ones with guest vocalists, in both cases working a style of jazz fusion which in some respects seems to point the way towards the neo- prog sounds of the early 1980s. An interesting little prog artifact from the years between the decline of the first prog wave and the rise of the next one, with a gloriously moody atmosphere that will appeal to fusion fans and neo-prog fans alike.

Devoto is a different album to what we are accustomed from Deus Ex Machina. Apparently easier. A quiet CD, less cumbersome and more affordable that others before. Your listening leaves a residue of "savoir-faire". Latin language has been abandoned, the structures are more linear and the Piras' voice is far less "sharp". Along with Imparis, posiblmente is his most mature album. But not in quality, but in the sense of taking things calmly and reveling. There is a special tendency to polish the edges, but not eliminate them.

Musically the group looks back. Towards their first two albums. But, in this case, in a completely voluntary way. Not in the way of "in search-of-a-sound". There are fewer jazz, the same quantity of rock and more jazz-rock. In many moments they lie in that middle ground between Mahavishnu, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. But beware, without losing a dot of his personality. I think it is Colina who has taken the reins in the aspect of composition, and with him, the album oozes blues, zydeco, Brazilian rhythms and other American roots sounds. It is not an obvious influence, but the strength of this album is basically in the details. Details as, in the past, were made to Ligeti, the funky and the Downtown (closest musics to the former keyboardist Fabrizio Puglisi).

And it should also keep in mind the recovery of a more progressive and electronic musician as Ricardello instead of Fabrizio, a jazzman. This significantly changes the sonic palette.

One more time confirmed, DexM is a unique and unrepeatable group. They do things with patience (more than one would say with "vagrancy"), but each disk evolve, and this is, to me, a sign of authenticity.

This raw concert tape caught guitar legend Jeff Beck in the turbulent wake of his electronica-laced millennial album trilogy, the last of which ("Jeff", 2003) was released only one month earlier. But the impulse here was a back-to-the-future reunion of his late '80s Guitar Shop trio, featuring drummer Terry Bozzio and keyboardist Tony Hymas. So you can expect a heavier barrage of elemental hard rock, with more testosterone than techno influences.

The lack of any studio embellishment (beyond the cheat of pre-recorded vocal samples, in "Seasons" and "My Thing") gives the music its stripped-down power, like a rattletrap hot rod where all the work was done under the hood. And the absence of a bass player acts like a busted muffler, making the album sound like an unrefined official bootleg ripped straight off the soundboard, without any post-gig enhancements.

The mix is pretty crude, and wasn't touched up for the belated stateside re-master (the disc was originally released only in Japan). Beck's over-amped electric guitar, distorted even on the softer ballads, was understandably pushed to center stage, but without the necessary counterbalance of any other instrument. Bozzio provides solid rhythmic support, but he's only there to keep time, and Hymas barely registers at all outside a few token solo spots.

It might be a worthwhile investment for aspiring air-guitarists and other six-string nerds. But the CD doesn't fully capture the true energy of the actual event, which in such a small venue must have been overwhelming.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to music is that whole "unplugged" or "acoustic" scene. Im sorry but give me electric instruments with fuzz and power. I just never "got" why there was an appeal to hear an electric album done live but unplugged or re-done in studio acoustically. I'm not into Folk music or traditional Jazz either so I know it's just me. Despite these strong feelings I thought I'd take a chance with "Octave Of The Holy Innocents" by Sweden's own Jonas Hellborg, bass player extraordinaire and this all-acoustic album released in 1992. I was convinced to track this down because it seemed almost unanimous that this record is the cat's ass. They are a trio with SANTANA's Michael Shrieve on drums and Buckethead on guitar. The playing is lights out and beyond reproach from where I sit. The problem is thinking about how good this could have been if they let their hair down and added some electricity to the proceedings. Also I get tired of hearing the guitar strummed with that same tone over and over.

"Rana And Fara" is a good one as the drums seem more upfront and deeper here. The guitar is so intricate and fast at times, it's hard not to be impressed. It calms right down around 4 1/2 minutes as the drums and bass stop and the relaxed intricate guitar continues. It kicks back in a minute later and again the guitar stands out the most for me. The bass accomplishes this as well before 7 minutes then it settles back again as the guitar solos. There's almost silence before 10 minutes then it starts to build.

"Death That Sleeps" has this repeated guitar melody as the bass and drums support throughout. It's pretty good. "The Past Is A Different Country, I Don't Live There Anymore" is a sparse track as it is very relaxed and laid back. I like the atmosphere and deep sounds. "Child King" is excellent as we get tension throughout and I keep waiting for it to explode but it doesn't or can't(hey it acoustic). One of my favourites for sure. "Kidogo" features uptempo strummed guitar, bass and drums for 3 1/2 minutes then we get a calm until it kicks back in around 5 minutes to the end.

I seem to tire of this one quickly yet there's lots to enjoy here. Overall 3.5 stars seems right to me. I really enjoy a lot of this album but for me there's plenty of flaws, at least when it comes to my musical tastes, certainly not in the performances on display here.