TRIBAL DANCE (FEAT. JIMMY HASLIP & CHAD WACKERMAN)

Review originally posted at www.therocktologist.com

One of today's most renowned Indonesian musicians has to be Tohpati, a first-class guitar player who has released a new album through Moonjune Records; its name is "Tribal Dance" and besides featuring his wonderful guitar, it delights us with the participation of Jimmy Haslip on bass and Chad Wackerman on drums, so with the lineup itself, the expectations are big. "Tribal Dance" is composed by 8 tracks that together make a total time of 43 minutes, where jazz fusion oriented tracks, will make you have a good time, believe me.

The first baby of the album is entitled "Rahwana", which happens to be the longest track of the album. The first seconds are odd, a tense background appears while some strange, native vocals chant. But after 20 seconds an explosive synergy of guitar-bass-drums appears, creating an obvious jazz fusion structure. After a couple of minutes the rhythm slows down and seems that a mid-tempo jam appears, with a guitar providing robotic-like effects in some passages, and clean fast solos in others. Of course, the music is led by Tohpati, who is the composer and leader, so guitar will be the instrument that will catch your attention the most, though is impossible to miss the great bass and drums section of those two monsters.

"Spirit of Java" brings a different mood. Besides the slower rhythm, the atmosphere is darker for over two minutes; later the guys offer a funky style which made me move my head and feel the rhythm. Percussions remind me a bit of Moerlen's Gong, while the guitar contrasts (in a good way) with fast notes. This great song does not really have one single style, it is a mixture of different offerings in just 5 minutes, which speaks about the great compositional skills of Tohpati.

Next one is "Tribal Dance" is a 7-minute track that does not have a lineal structure, which makes it interesting, and which makes the music flowing in spite of the different mini- passages it brings. I like all the inner changes it has, in one second you are listening to a slow-tempo section and then fast lines appear. The first 20 seconds of "Red Mask" have an isolated violin (I think) sound, but when it vanishes, the fusion trio bring back their power and elegance, so once again, a new piece is being built up with a great communion between guitar, bass and drums.

A kind of intermission comes next with the short "Savana", a track with a peaceful feeling, a relaxing moment after the jazz fusion vertigo. So take a deep breath and prepare yourself to receive the richness of "Run", which starts with some seconds of native people noises, and later a rock oriented track appears with delicious drums and of course the great chat between the strings. What I like of this album is that there are moments for enjoying every instrument, I mean, though the guitar is the obvious leader, it is not selfish enough to block the inherent talent of the bass and drums player, so they are also free to share their skills.

A kind of ritual can be heard in the introductory seconds of "Supernatural", which is probably my favorite track of the album. It is a vertiginous song that perfectly mixes cadency, energy, softness and rock. To listen to this song is quite an adventure, like a rollercoaster of sounds that bring nothing more than satisfaction; you have no idea of how much I enjoy this particular song. And the album finishes with "Midnight Rain" which is a softer track, a relaxing breath of fresh air to finish a wonderful record.

Well, if you are into jazz fusion and want to listen to a new, fresh and well-crafted album, you cannot miss this one.

Enjoy it

You know your album's no joke when it features such world class players like Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Haslip; Tohpati's recent release, "Tribal Dance," is no exception. Once again Tohpati delivers an interesting take on east meets west, creating a space where great jazz fusion collides with Indonesian influences for a successful body of music.

After a brief intro of chaotic ethnic chanting, Tohpati wastes no time in diving into the album with a central motif based around 16th note runs whose ending segment get beefed up through the fantastic Jimmy Haslip's unison basslines. From here we move into a chunky chord theme that's a straight up rocker, followed by the 16th note melodies again, followed by a repeat of the chord theme spun out in a lighter, more jazz oriented direction. From here we get a sort of bridge to the solo section where the drums and bass slow down, Wackerman focusing on light, but powerful grooves while Tohpati goes at it with with strange guitar effects before moving towards a solo full of really cool, uncoventional phrasing and well-placed insertion of effects, all the while Wackerman and Haslip slowly build the rhythm section towards an intense climax. The return to the main theme comes at just the right time and the band carries us to the end of a great album opener. The followup, "Spirit of Java," offers quite a nice change of pace. This piece is characterized by it's ethnic percussion and slow and steady pace which perfectly augments an extremely dark eastern melody that is made absolutely haunting through reverb and effects. The middle section does cause me a bit of mixed-feelings though when a funky riff seems to come out of nowhere, feeling a bit out of place. What perhaps saves it in the end is a sudden storm of Tohpati's guitar wizardry followed by a brief Wackerman solo that transitions the drum part perfectly into a powerful ending featuring the picturesque theme from the start of the song perfectly placed alongside Chad's wonderful improvisations on the kit.

The title track, "Tribal Dance," features some spacey ambient chords interspersed with light jazzy sections where Wackerman can really throw down some delicate playing, but the true highlight of the song is Jimmy Haslip's beautiful solo that's full of flair. Next up is "Red Mask," a more conventional sounding fusion track, followed by "Savana," a gorgeous solo guitar piece that's propelled forward by heavenly guitar effects. Later on, "Supernatural" offers us one of the more complex servings from the Indonesian guitar legend and world class rhythm duo, spinning time-signature changes around left and right and delivering everything from ethnic-tinged fusion runs to chunky prog-metal-esque riffing. Wackerman's sudden drum solo is, like always, both clever and powerful, and the exit from the solo to the main melody is menacing and urgent, making "Supernatural" a track to not be overlooked. You know your album's no joke when it features such world class players like Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Haslip; Tohpati's recent release, "Tribal Dance," is no exception. Once again Tohpati delivers an interesting take on east meets west, creating a space where great jazz fusion collides with Indonesian influences for a successful body of music.

After a brief intro of chaotic ethnic chanting, Tohpati wastes no time in diving into the album with a central motif based around 16th note runs whose ending segment get beefed up through the fantastic Jimmy Haslip's unison basslines. From here we move into a chunky chord theme that's a straight up rocker, followed by the 16th note melodies again, followed by a repeat of the chord theme spun out in a lighter, more jazz oriented direction. From here we get a sort of bridge to the solo section where the drums and bass slow down, Wackerman focusing on light, but powerful grooves while Tohpati goes at it with with strange guitar effects before moving towards a solo full of really cool, uncoventional phrasing and well-placed insertion of effects, all the while Wackerman and Haslip slowly build the rhythm section towards an intense climax. The return to the main theme comes at just the right time and the band carries us to the end of a great album opener. The followup, "Spirit of Java," offers quite a nice change of pace. This piece is characterized by it's ethnic percussion and slow and steady pace which perfectly augments an extremely dark eastern melody that is made absolutely haunting through reverb and effects. The middle section does cause me a bit of mixed-feelings though when a funky riff seems to come out of nowhere, feeling a bit out of place. What perhaps saves it in the end is a sudden storm of Tohpati's guitar wizardry followed by a brief Wackerman solo that transitions the drum part perfectly into a powerful ending featuring the picturesque theme from the start of the song perfectly placed alongside Chad's wonderful improvisations on the kit.

The title track, "Tribal Dance," features some spacey ambient chords interspersed with light jazzy sections where Wackerman can really throw down some delicate playing, but the true highlight of the song is Jimmy Haslip's beautiful solo that's full of flair. Next up is "Red Mask," a more conventional sounding fusion track, followed by "Savana," a gorgeous solo guitar piece that's propelled forward by heavenly guitar effects. Later on, "Supernatural" offers us one of the more complex servings from the Indonesian guitar legend and world class rhythm duo, spinning time-signature changes around left and right and delivering everything from ethnic-tinged fusion runs to chunky prog-metal-esque riffing. Wackerman's sudden drum solo is, like always, both clever and powerful, and the exit from the solo to the main melody is menacing and urgent, making "Supernatural" a track to not be overlooked.

Tohpati closes the album off in a personal way, presenting "Midnight Rain" as a guitar only composition. The bluesy licks over a canvas of serene chord changes, blips, harmonics, and arpeggiator like guitar effects make this a track that looks both towards the past and the future simultaneously. Surely this session with rhythm masters Chad Wackman and Jimmy Haslip features some of the coolest moments of Tohpati's career, and undoubtedly Tohpati's composition, musicianship, and performance on Tribal Dance shows him to be of the same high caliber of the aforementioned jazz giants. If you're new to Tohpati, this is a great place to start; if you're a long time fan, Tribal Dance will surely find a warm place in your collection.

Tohpati closes the album off in a personal way, presenting "Midnight Rain" as a guitar only composition. The bluesy licks over a canvas of serene chord changes, blips, harmonics, and arpeggiator like guitar effects make this a track that looks both towards the past and the future simultaneously. Surely this session with rhythm masters Chad Wackman and Jimmy Haslip features some of the coolest moments of Tohpati's career, and undoubtedly Tohpati's composition, musicianship, and performance on Tribal Dance shows him to be of the same high caliber of the aforementioned jazz giants. If you're new to Tohpati, this is a great place to start; if you're a long time fan, Tribal Dance will surely find a warm place in your collection.

Indonesian guitarist and composer TOHPATI is arguably best know for being a member of the Indonesian band SimakDialog for the last 20 or so years, but in the last few years he has also invested time into various side projects, and has also found the time to embark on a few purebred solo production runs. "Tribal Dance" is the most recent of his solo albums, and was released through Moonjune Records in the fall of 2014.

Guitar dominated and guitar driven instrumental jazz rock is the chosen turf for Tohpati, and his take on it is fairly energetic at heart, and of the kind that will intrigue those with an interest in technically skilled guitarists who showcase those abilities within defined frameworks. We have passages and sequences of a more technical oriented nature, but never as the sole dominant aspect of a composition, they are always explored within a broader context. As far as such ventures go this one is a high quality affair, and one easily recommended to fans of instrumental jazz rock and fusion, especially to those with a soft spot for high quality guitar oriented escapades of that kind.