IAN CARR'S NUCLEUS: OUT OF THE LONG DARK

The studio album return of Ian's long-time collaborator, saxophonist Brian Smith. Also, gone from the fold is wonderful bass player Roger Sutton, but watch out: here comes the funky fretless play of New Zealander Billy Kristian.

1. "Gone With the Weed" (3:25) great "smooth" Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion of the Herbie/Donald Byrd kind with some cool electric piano stuff underneath and some great trumpet play and trumpet and sax interplay up top. Billy Kristian's adept bass play is obviously being doubled up by guitar and keys while an uncredited rhythm guitar (could this possibly be a wah-wah-ed keyboard?) fills the spaces during the rhythm section's frequent stops and restarts, moving toward an unexpected Disco finish. Excellent energy: so vivacious and fun. (9.333/10)

2. "Lady Bountiful" (9:17) smooth, rolling bass and keyboard foundation provides the safety net for Brian and Ian to take turns up front--Brian using his soprano sax in a very satisfying (not annoying) way with those rich keyboard chords buoying him from beneath. You know I'm not a sax fan but this is quite nice. Piano is next, creating a pond of lullness while everyone steps back to watch for a few seconds. The band returns to support more of Brian and Ian's tandem interplay for a while before another break gives Billy Kristian the spotlight for a bit. Piano and trumpet join in while Billy continues holding down the groove (with embellishments), now playing off of one another, taking the song like this (sans drums) to the end. I like and appreciate this but it's not a very memorable song. (17.5/20)

3. "Solar Wind" (7:33) I love the long, drawn out development of notes, chords, themes, and motifs on this song. There are even some smoothed-over sounds and themes that feel as if they'd come from a Return to Forever album or Jan Hammer's concurrent output. Though everyone performing on this one hits all the stellar highs, I want to give a special shout out to the very satisfying contributions of the percussionists. I love how the rhythmatists of the final run present a motif that sounds like Talking Heads' "The Great Curve" while Brian and Ian play their smooth melodies. (14/15)

4. "Selina" (4:06) the main theme presents a lot like Miles Davis' classic tune from 1959's Kind of Blue, "All Blues," the big difference is a kind of Steely Dan feel and attitude from the keys and sax. The horn section definitely fit right in with the horn melodies of Cannoball Adderley, 'Trane, and Miles on "All Blues." Even Ian's solo with his muted trumpet in the third minute totally conjures up Miles' play on the song in question. The biggest difference here is Billy Kristian's explosive bass lines: they're very different from those of Paul Chambers. Plus the Latin percussion from Richard Burgess. Still, this is a very fun, highly-nostalgic and winning emulation of a great old tune by some great, very capable next-gen players. And great sound engineering! (9.25/10)

5. "Out of the Long Dark (Conception)" (7:29) another long, slow moving mood piece that sees Ian using a mute over his trumpet--and he's occupying the spotlight for the vast majority of this one. Brian is playing a mellifluous flute over the tropical night mood music of the rest of the island cabana band: he's part of the mood but also making his ethereal commentaries/mimicry of Ian's cool muted horn (which reminds me of a lot of Mark Isham's work in the 1980s). Nice melody making, nice trumpet playing with very solid support from the late night cast--especially Neil Ardley's subtle Lyle Mays-like underscoring of Brian's flute and Ian's trumpet. Quite lovely--and perfectly arranged and recorded. Noteworthy. (14.125/15)

6. "Sassy (American Girl)" (5:13) coming across like a Steely Dan number--like a cross between "Peg," "Josie," and "I Got the News"--there are a lot of quirky, happy elements congealing into one funky tune. The Tony Banks Duke electric piano is especially prominent. (9.25/10)

7. "Simply This (The Human Condition)" (4:28) Billy Kristian is locked into a funky groove with Roger Sellers right there with him as Neil Ardley's synthesizer riffs, Geoff Castle's Fender Rhodes, and the horns fill in some of the spaces over the top. Again, I feel the need to bring light to the amazing sound engineering: the imaging makes one feel as if one is sitting on stage with the band playing around you, for you. (9.25/10)

8. "Black Ballad (Ecce Domino)" (6:56) wandering and meandering, stopping and stutter-starting, this jazz song still has more of a Bob James/Freddie Hubbard/Steely Dan Smooth Jazz feel to it than any of the other songs on the album. The riffs that make up the main motif are rather pop-oriented (Steely Dan), the solos pretty and melodic with very little dynamic surprises, and the drumming fairly Steve Gadd-like. It's nice--it's pretty--it's just not as jazzy as I like from my J- R Fusion artists. (13.25/15)

9. "For Liam" (0:58) solo flugelhorn from Ian that sounds like a day- or life-closing homage--a gentle, peaceful bugle call like "Taps."

Total Time: 49:25

A lot more tendresse and emotion-provocative melodie than I'm used to hearing from Ian & Co. but not enough to make it sound syrupy or maudlin--this is not Ian's concession to the trend to create money-making Smooth Jazz or Yacht Rock: the arrangements are still quite sophisticated and jazzy, fully-challenging his wonderful cast of virtuoso contributors

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of sophisticated pre-Smooth Jazz Jazz-Rock Fusion. It happens to be one of the greatest albums from the very end of the 1970s that I've heard . . . ever!

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