MONTREUX BOOGIE (JUKKA TOLONEN BAND)

"Montreaux Boogie" is a terrific live document of a razor sharp band letting loose the funky fusion. Dual guitars, bass drums and sax make the driving, intense, hypnotic sound collage that puts you in the pocket and wisks you away for 47 minutes. Guitars are on display of course, but Tolonen likes to hammer you with groove here. The power is in the tight melodies and dynamic interplay between Finland's finest from the late '70's flourishing fusion scene. For those of you who have never heard a Tolonen release, this wouldn't be a bad place to start. Think live Jeff Beck from his fusion period and you won't be too far off with this one.

Like many of my other Tolonen reviews, I'll mention how underxposed this mans body of work is. It holds up to Mahavishnu, Weather Report, RTF, Brand X, Coryell - all the biggies. If you're a fan of those, pick this one up without reservation, along with "The Hook", "Hysterica" and "A Passenger to Perimaribo" as well as his records when he was with Tasavallan Presidentti, one of the first progressive jazzrock acts.