DJABE & STEVE HACKETT: FREYA - ARCTIC JAM

The ongoing relationship between the Genesis maestro and prolific Hungarian legends Djabe continues, seemingly a prefect partnership musically, as well as Steve's obvious personal love for Hungarian culture. Combining modern jazz sensibilities within expansive musical channels that wander way beyond the mundane is in itself a major accomplishment, but when interfaced with Steve Hackett's magical guitar, the creative flower blooms like a paradise garden. With Tamàs Barabàs leaning on his florescent bass guitar, in unison with the syncopation marshalled by Peter Kaszàs , the keyboards can now run rampant, and Zoltàn Bubenyàk does so with shimmering class, while Aron Koos-Hutàs adds flugelhorn and trumpet to the arrangements, as well as taking center stage when called upon. Attila Égerhàzi maintains his compositional guidance and having Hackett's incredible tone as a cavalry charge must be quite the experience. The Hungarians surely enjoy performing all the classic Genesis and Steve's solo material just as much as Hackett seems having a blast playing the Magyar material. What we call a perfect partnership with zero downside, only mutual respect and constant enjoyment in each others company. The music is always a challenge to describe, a hybrid jazz, rock, African and Hungarian folk, at times ambient, meditative and progressive as well.

"In the Silence " opens the curtain on a cinematographic groove, where cool synthesizer plateaus, freezing bass fjords, and wind-blown guitar gales , together revealing an arctic feel. The Barabàs bass is particularly chatty, the pure crystalline piano notes evoking snowflakes melting on warm cheeks, the flugelhorn blaring gently like whales in the distant ocean. The jazzy guitar phrasings are masterfully restrained by Attila, letting Steve do his thing later on, where golden streaks of sunshiny bliss overtakes the arrangement, a sassy trumpet maintaining the tempo. The bouncy "Freya" evokes the Norse myth of a goddess that can master love, beauty, fertility, war, magic and death. Not sure modern women would be able or willing to take on that many tasks but who knows, with all the superwomen around ? With hushed vocals, this piece aims for a more laid-back, accessible romp, with Hackett shooting off a few bursts from his trusted electric guitar. Things revert to the sonic imagery that makes up the bulk of this 'arctic jam', a subdued trumpet recalling the very distant past, as "Stone Age Tea" should be a reference to the bubbling brew emanating from both Aron's wind instruments, Peter's primitive percussives and the slithering lead guitar slicing though the floating leaves. The finale is quite the blowout! A warning that precedes the incredible next four tracks that take this to an entirely other level.

Ambient jazz is where we can hear the "Whispers of The Woods", a polyrhythmic travelogue with thrilling drum parts that show off incredible dexterity and feeling, a strong piano in tow and a sudden frolicking transition into a lighter realm, almost playfully so. This is the ideal moment for Attila and Steve to exchange fretboard phrasings, each easily identifiable and both brilliantly interlaced, a definite moody and atmospheric highlight on this album. Hackett gets to indulge himself in a performance that exhibits his creative soloing as opposed to being a bandleader, a consummate master in full control of his muse, and a timeless adventure for us in the audience. At times, I even thought I was listening to Al DiMeola, another jazz-rock icon that can really dazzle. This stunning piece has all the ingredients for perpetual fame, a modern jazz classic, if there ever was one.

Reflective, ponderous and romantic, the 9 minute + "Sliding Trees" keeps the inventive side in full flight, a serene modulation with Hackett's harmonica causing the most initial damage, a rubbery fretless bass foray for the ages shaking off the branches and the shivering electric guitar somersaulting into celestial overtones, in almost Santana-esque caravanserai fashion, the sensual trumpet caressing the senses, the tactile piano rippling gently over the skin, utterly relaxing and yet evocative of some internal voyaging. Hackett's second solo reaffirms the Carlos feel, repeated by a slick synthesizer flurry that boldly assumes its place. Darn, this is so good!

With a funky slap bass , "The Lost Ship" floats along willy-nilly as the trilling electric guitar phrasing sends out distress messages, compounded by a nervy synthesizer alarm, though no band members seem to abandon ship. With all hands-on board, the drums are pugnaciously abundant, the pace hurried and frantic, the blistering guitar in your face and the Barabàs solo beyond anything heard in decades, the vessel floundering and sinking fast.

The epic finale and longest track here, "A Storm is Brewing" may be the nail in the proverbial coffin, as it simply encompasses all the details expressed above and then some. The languorous tempo, the Égerhàzi guitar in full flight that foreshadows the arrival of the greying clouds with liquid fervor, the swirling synthesizer gusts, piano droplets crashing down on the rocks, the plaintive shudder of Hackett's drenching guitar, and a melancholic bluesy trumpet bidding farewell , I can only surrender to the fact that this is majestic music at its highest level.

Djabe are without question a global leader in modern jazz, owning all the attributes that make their music such a breath of freshness, a panacea for the soul . 5 polar marmalades

Virtuoso Hungarian jazz musicians who have chosen the commercial- and audience-friendly kind of Jazz-Rock Fusion are given an injection of proggy creativity by the all-time master of prog guitar, Steve Hackett.

1. "In the Silence" (8:27) such wonderful bass play--here functioning as pretty much the lead melody-making instrument. Very smooth and melodic music. The song opens with water/harbor sounds while fretless bass, synth strings washes, and drums slowly enter and establish a pretty, mellow Smooth Jazz groove over/within which Tamás Barabás' remarkable bass and Attila Égerházi spacious guitar play off one another. Brief vocal introduction, bass and guitar interplay, piano solo in the third minute precede a Weather Report- and Strunz and Farah/Acoustic Alchemy/Govi-like World Music/Smooth Jazz fusion passage with flugelhorn leading the way. Bass and guitar take the next solos with synths, piano, and drums holding down the sed Maestro Steve Hackett's unquestionable presence bursts forth at 5:21. The man can still cook--can still sound fresh and innovative. Amazing. A very easy-to-listen-to, enjoyable song that brings very little new or exciting to the World Fusion or Smooth Jazz table (other than Tamás Barabás' sumptuous bass play). (17.75/20)

2. "Freya" (5:26) more Florida-easy Yacht Rock with solid performances and gentle jazz-pop sound palette and soothing APP/Ambrosia-like group/choral vocals. The highlight for me are 1) the soothing melodies, 2) the winning solos of Zoltán Bubenyák on electric piano and Áron Koós-Hutás on flugelhorn. Why Steve's (amazing) electric guitar solo in the fifth minute occupies such a muted/repressed sound I can only imagine: it's as if they made every effort to remove any and all high end from his sound--even the high-octave notes feel severely muted. (8.875/10)

3. "Stone Age Tea" (6:47) funky slap bass allows synths and guitars to shine. Nice drumming clinic from Attila Égerházi. This music reminds me of someone else from the 1980s or 1990s--like Rick Braun or Boney James. I like this Smooth World Music Jazz music quite a bit. I still wonder about the sound engineering choices: so much compression! Flugelhorn, volume-pedal-controlled electric guitar, acoustic guitars provide the highlights up top while Tamás and Péter keep the low end masterfully in control. (Another masterful performance and solo from Péter.) (13.5/15)

4. "Whispers of the Woods" (8:34) Those plugged in acoustic guitars sound so much like the cabana/lounge music I was exposed to in my various vacation trips to Florida in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s and 2000s that I find myself mesmerized into reveries of those balmy breezy days and nights--which is nice--BUT this is not the kind of prog or Jazz-Rock Fusion that I hold up as the highest examples of our genre and sub-genres. It's commercial-oriented and audience-pleasing fare that sounds as if talents like those in Allan Holdsworth bands or in the SONAR variations were suddenly brainwashed into playing pacifying Easy Listening music. (17.5/20)

5. "Sliding Trees" (9:18) great music to play in the background while eating a meal in a romantic Italian restaurant. Steve Hackett's harmonica performance leaves one wondering, Why? Easy Listening Adult Contemporary Smooth Jazz at its finest, no more, no less. Refreshing, inventive prog rock? I don't think so. The rhythm track feels sequenced: generated or programmed by computer. There is little creative input much less improvisation anywhere in the song. (17.125/20)

6. "The Lost Ship" (6:07) this one sounds a bit like Bill Bruford's first couple of EARTHWORKS albums. Keyboards provide the introductory melodies before Steve Hackett's guitar steps in to expand upon them. Synth takes over in the second half of the second minute as Tamás entertains from below with his slap bass. Steve gets the next solo, spanning about 30 seconds, before Áron gets a turn to finish the fourth minute. Steve's solo gets to STEVE VAI turf in the final minute with all kinds of cool note bending and slurring and Tamás really puts on a show toward the end there. Now this is real Jazz-Rock FusionEasily my favorite song on the album. (9.125/10)

7. "A Storm is Brewing" (10:27) great music to play in the background while on a romantic winter weekend: curled up with your one true love on the couch (or on the floor on a luxuriant animal fur) in front of a fire in the stone hearth or fireplace in the cozy rustic cabin you've rented. Easy Listening Adult Contemporary Smooth Jazz at its finest, no more, no less. Refreshing, inventive prog rock? I don't think so. (17.5/20)

Total time: 53:06

The musicianship on this album is so good. They've come up with many great earworm melodies--some in the solos, some in the main motifs and coming from support instruments--to provide an overall very enjoyable listening experience (even if it is high quality Smooth Jazz) and some iconic Steve Hackett solos (How does he keep inventing new ones after 55 years?)

B/four stars; a very nice, smooth, enjoyable romp through some Smooth Textured, masterfully-performed yet somewhat questionably-engineered Smooth Jazz.