VOYAGE TO URANUS

Everything seemed to come together for Clive Stevens when he moved to America to further his education on the saxaphone. At the Berklee College Of Music he was in the same class as Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie which certainly had a lot to do with this. His two classmates would introduce him to like minded muscians and the ideas and creative juices started to flow. An exciting time not just for Stevens but for fans of the electric side of jazz. There was enough inspiration for two studio albums both released in 1974, but the debut was recorded early in 1972.

And what a debut! Having the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA rhythm section didn't hurt, or Steve Kahn adding 6 and 12 string guitars. And while the lineup on album number two is not nearly as sexy, the performances speak for themselves. Michael Carvin is on drums while David Earl Johnson(Jan Hammer Group) adds percussion. There is no second guitarist this time around as Abercrombie and Towner add the acoustics here this time, while the former plays mostly electric. Stu Woods is on bass. The album title was inspired by a dream that Clive had about travelling to Uranus.

Like the debut this was recorded in New York City but this time at The Record Plant. In the liner notes Clive mentions that "The ambience of the session was absolute extraordinary and I will never forget those cosmic moments." So on both albums we have the core trio of Stevens, Abercrombie and Towner. The latter adds clavinet and 12 string this time but no ring modulator on that electric piano like on the debut. And there is a different mood on this latest. You could call this one more mature sounding I suppose but it's also not as impressive or adventerous.

My top three includes the opener "Shifting Phases" where a bass line is joined quickly by guitar followed by sax and electric piano. And we are off! So much going on here and we're moving at a good pace. Nice guitar picking before 3 minutes then flute arrives with some crazy percussion in tow. Sax is back late. Great track! Next top three is "Electric Impulse" and I have to say this album does have a strong second half. This one is subdued with electric piano leading early. Sax starts to solo over top and this section is such a mind blowing display of Stevens' talents on the sax. He is using that wah-wah pedal again.

"Water Rhythms" rounds out my top three. While the sax sounds more traditional early on, this track is like three different ones. A calm at 2 minutes signals a new section then check out the crying sax before 4 minutes. Some punishing bass as the electric piano then leads. Sax is back late and a big finish. I do like "Cultural Release" a lot with Abercrombie trading off with Towners' clavinet before the sax joins in. Lots of solos on this one including a short drum solo. Abercrombie really impresses me on the moody "Inner Spaces & Outer Places". Not big on the french titled track. It's fairly light with flute. More flute led music on the closer and the title track.

A four star album for sure, but give me the more inventive and exciting debut.

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