DREAMLAND MECHANISM

Although José Pedro Beledo (electric guitar, violin, electric piano, synthesizer, piano, accordion, Spanish guitar, fretless bass, vocals) started recording solo albums in the Eighties, there were some significant gaps between those and his 2016 debut Moonjune release which was some 9 years on from his last one (although he can be found playing on albums with many other bands, some of which I have reviewed previously). One will note from the instruments listed that Beledo truly is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitars and violin, and consequently has used guests sparingly, but it is interesting to note this includes legends like Gary Husband and Lincoln Goines on the New York Sessions while he also recorded in Indonesia where none other than Dewa Budjana got involved.

The result is an instrumental album which shows a musician very much at home in whatever genre he is playing, and this sounds like a seasoned band as opposed to session musicians who have come together just for the occasion. He has such a deft touch on piano as well as lightning-fast breaks on guitar that it is difficult to realise it is the same musician on both, while he skips through pure jazz into fusion and world music with ease. It is an album which takes the listener on a journey, never knowing what is going to come next and not needing to understand the destination. Take "Marilyn's Escapade" for example, here he provides lead roles on accordion, piano, guitar and violin ? who does that? All the time in the background there is the shuffle of Husband, who spent so many years with Holdsworth, and Goines with his warm and delicate basslines ensuring Beledo has the foundation to go off and create a masterpiece. This is an inviting album, one for the listener to sit down with headphones and really get inside the music and is a great introduction to the world of Beledo.

Review originally published at www.therocktologist.com

A delicious album!

This is the debut Beledo album on Moonjune Records, but it is my debut and introduction to Beledo's music, a truly talented multi-instrumentist who was born on Uruguay, and who nowadays is primarly known for his amazing guitar style. He has been active making music in the local scene but also working and collaborating with artists from other countries. I am really happy to have been introduced to his music because believe me, it is great, as we can notice in this 2016 record entitled Dreamland Mechanism, in which he is of course the main character, but he is accompanied by wonderful musicians such as Gary Husband and Dewa Budjana, just to name a couple.

This jazz fusion and experimental album features 10 songs and almost one hour of wonderful music, starting with "Mechanism", a cool introductory track that brings truly fine instrumental jazz, taking me to the past, reminding me of some 70s fusion acts such as Mahavishnu Orchestra (maybe because of the violin) and even some Canterbury bands. But don't judge so quickly, because after some minutes, the guitar maestro begins to delight us with a jam in which is wonderfully accompanied by the one and only Gary Husband on drums, and Lincoln Goines on bass. That part without violin is more like jazz rock rather than jazz fusion. A great opener!

It is worth mentioning that in each track there are only 3 musicians, Beledo is obviously in all of them, but the rest of the musicians change. "Bye Bye Blues" has delicious keyboard appearance that puts an elegant sound on this fast and passionate jazz fusion track, the same Beledo is who plays those keyboards, so he shows us his great skills on guitars and keys, amazing. "Marylin's Escapade" is the longest track here with almost 9 minutes of excellent music. What I like of it is that you can listen and enjoy the music no matter your mood, no matter what you are doing, the music enters to your brain and pass so fast that you will suddenly notice that it has ended.

And as I said, all of a sudden you will find yourselve immersed in a delicious Spanish-like piece entitled "Lucila" in which Beledo, maestro of maestros, plays Spanish and electric guitar, as well as the beautiful sound of a fretless bass, which are perfectly complemented by Sudanese percussion, giving us a wonderful track full of mediterranean textures. "Sudden Voyage" is another great tune that perfectly fits in the jazz fusion realm, creating great atmospheres that any fusion fan would love.

The Beledo ? Goines ?Husband combo appears in the next 3 tracks, and though the songs are of course different, we might notice that the same musicians are working there and giving us songs that have their own touch. These track are "Big Brother Calling", "Mercury in Retrograde" and "Silent Assessment", three great tracks but the second one is my favorite, very dynamic and passionate.

There is an exception to the rule on track 9 "Budjanaji", in which 5 musicians participate instead of 3. Here, as the tite suggests, Indonesian mastermind Dewa Budjana is a guest musician playing the 2nd electric guitar solo, in a song that is much calmer than others, but full of fineness and greatly fulfilled by Sudanese percussion. It also features voices (without lyrics) for the first and only time in the album. It is a Bbautiful and delicious track. The album finishes with "Front Porch Pine", an extraorinary closer that simply makes more evident that this release is nearly a work of art, an amazing record that I would not hesitate to recommend to my friends and people who like jazz fusion. Please listen to it and get it, you will not regret.

Enjoy it!