PATRICK MORAZ & SYRINX: COEXISTENCE [AKA: LIBERTATE]

Patrick Moraz is a very eclectic musician. He has done Symphonic Prog with Mainhorse, Refugee and Yes; Latin/Brazilian Fusion on some of his solo albums (most notably his first and probably best one, The Story Of I); Jazz-Rock with Bill Bruford on Flags; Pop Prog on some of his solo albums as well as on several albums with The Moody Blues; and classical piano music. Coexistance does not fall into any of these categories and thus represents yet another type of music to which Moraz has lent his considerable skills.

On this album Moraz coexists with someone called Syrinx. This Syrinx person is credited with playing flutes of which there is a lot on this album. There is also electric guitar and drums. Still, I would not call this music Prog Rock. Progressive - maybe, but not very much rock to my ears. Fusion might be a better description but it has virtually nothing to do with Jazz-Rock. Perhaps World Music is en even better description, but do not expect an all out relaxing, New-Age kind of music here. The mood might be New-Age like, but some moments are quite intense. Black Gold, for example, is a great piece of music that often reminds me of Al Di Meola's intensity even if it is not a guitar piece. The keyboard sound at the end of this track is even similar to the one on Elegant Gypsy. This is easily my favourite number of this album.

The least good moment is the second track which is something of a Calypso! Not my cup of tea. The rest of the music is rather laid-back keyboard, flute and drums/percussion dominated pieces. The whole album is instrumental and there are no attempts to make Pop music. The music might be compared to the likes of Jade Warrior, Mike Oldfield, Vangelis and perhaps Al Di Meola.

Different, but hardly great despite some really good moments.