Electric Masada - At the Mountains of Madness

Marc Ribot - guitar
Cyro Baptista - percussion
Joey Baron - drums
Kenny Wollesen - drums
John Zorn - alto saxophone
Trevor Dunn - bass
Ikue Mori - electronics, laptop
Jamie Saft - keyboards


The 2004 release of 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 4, the first official recording of any kind from the almost legendary Electric Masada ensemble, was revelatory. For those not privileged to have seen this group in action, that live album offered a first taste of their ferocity and lyricism. And it's that combination that makes Electric Masada special: they combine the beauty of many of John Zorn's Masada songs with a percussive, improvisational fury aided by a lineup that features two drummers and a percussionist.

The beautifully-packaged At the Mountains of Madness, the second Electric Masada release, is, if anything, even wilder. The hellaciously noisy freakouts are even noisier and more powerful this time around, and there are even two renditions of a song by Naked City, Zorn's infamous punk-jazz outfit, here appropriately dubbed "Metal Tov." Zorn in particular seems especially possessed, his sax solos blowing freer and more intense compared to those on the 50th birthday disc. And the enigmatic laptop wizard Ikue Mori plays a more prominent role, filling previously empty spaces with her obtuse electronic squiggling. While not as revelatory as the 50th birthday album, At the Mountains of Madness arguably packs a bigger punch. Not surprisingly, the shorter pieces like "Idalah-Abal" and "Hath-Arob" are storming beasts (though I actually prefer the longer, more developed, and more carefully-paced compositions); and the second disc's opener, "Tekufah," is given an absolutely searing reading that easily trumps its rendition on the 50th birthday release.

For the Masada/Zorn neophyte, suffice it to say that Electric Masada brings elements of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew in line with a particular vision of 21st century fusion: a vision dominated by aggressive improvisation and Jewish melodies. Like the best of the Masada material, the songs here alternate (sometimes almost predictably) between spacy and beautifully melodic passages and loud, heavy jams sometimes based in jazz improv and sometimes in more rock-styled formats.

Disc 1:
1.Lilin
2.Metal Tov
3.Karaim
4.Hath-Arob
5.Abidan
6.Idalah-Abal
7.Kedem
8.Yatzar

Disc 2:
1.Tekufah
2.Hath-Arob
3.Abidan
4.Metal Tov
5.Karaim
6.Idalah-Abal
7.Kedem


link in comments

Jim Black & AlasNoAxis - Habyor

Personnel: Jim Black/AlasNoAxis: Hilmar Jensson (guitars); Chris Speed (tenor saxophone, clarinet, Wurlitzer piano, accordion, Casiotone); Jim Black (melodica, Wurlitzer piano, drums); Skuli Sverrison (bass instrument).

Listeners familiar with drummer Jim Black's work alongside Ellery Eskelin, Tim Berne, and Dave Douglas were surprised by his solo debut, AlasNoAxis , back in 2000. The outright bulk of the backbeat-driven opus stood in contrast to Black's other jazz-oriented efforts, which were marked (and continue to be marked) by a more liberal dynamic approach. The drummer's short attention span and fluidity of motion allow him to integrate styles on the fly and constantly shift his center of balance, but the solo effort focused on a more limited vision. Habyor represents the third installment in the series, and it's a decidedly testosterone-rich return to form.

AlasNoAxis (the band, now in its second reunion on wax) features saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed, guitarist Hilmar Jensson, and bassist Skuli Sverisson. These players have worked with each other long enough to step forward without hesitation, giving Black's compositions the muscle they need to work. Rather than relying upon subtlety and implication, the group dives right in and pounds through blocks of explicitly organized sound, giving flesh and blood to deliberate themes and vamps. The full-bodied energy of these ten pieces derives in large part from Jensson's gnarly, distorted guitar and Sverisson's insistent, throbbing bass. Black plays relatively tight-fistedly, holding back on the carefree flights of fancy that have characterized his work elsewhere; this is serious and focused stuff.

The most remarkable part of this music is the way Chris Speed integrates his voices on tenor saxophone and clarinet. His tone is often raw, fragile, and tender, a marked contrast to the general muscularity of the music. The vulnerability of his lines introduces a needed human dimension, a sense that all is not necessarily as sure as it seems. Otherwise, Habyor might fly a little too high on adolescent energy, whether channeled through sheer headbanging thrash (”Hello Kombiant”), jarring contrast (”Rade”), or tectonic shifts (”Talk About”).

Whether you call this jazz or (art-/prog-/post-) rock, it's heavy on structure and improvisational space is relatively limited. That gives it heft and momentum but limits its mobility. These four players are smart enough to know the boundaries; what proceeds on Habyor is their hard-working effort to fill space with an enduring, almost anthemic pulse that takes some time to leave the air when the music has ended.

(review from allaboutjazz.com)

1. Talk About (4:04)
2. Z (4:25)
3. Rade (6:45)
4. Cha (5:28)
5. Part Wolf (5:56)
6. Hello Kombiant (3:28)
7. Let It Down (6:05)
8. Be Real (4:32)
9. Endgatherers (6:39)
10. Stay Go (4:21)

link in comments

Allan Holdsworth - Secrets

Personnel:
- Vinnie Colaiuta / drums
- Craig Copeland / vocals
- Allan Holdsworth / guitar, synthaxe
- Clair Holdsworth / voice
- Steve Hunt / keyboards
- Jimmy Johnson / bass
- Rowanne Mark / vocals
- Jeffrey Ocheltree / hammer
- Alan Pasqua / acoustic piano
- Bob Wackerman / bass
- Chad Wackerman / drums, keyboards

Matt Reniscoff writes in the liner notes about Allan Holdsworth's CD Secrets, "This is not a guitar synthesizer album, nor is it a guitar album. It would be perfectly accurate to describe it as nothing like you've ever heard before, and Allan as a guitar player like none you've heard before, but the statement's shortsightedness does a disservice to Allan's vision. Allan Holdsworth consistently creates music like no other: devil takes hindmost, means be damned. And it's not in the arrangement of notes he plays, the speed at which he plays them or the tools he uses; the beauty is held in the passionate way he makes them gleam together from a deep-seated feeling to a tangible mass of sound - and back to a feeling once again. This is like nothing you've heard before. Close your eyes, open your ears, and capture a glimpse of Allan Holdsworth's secret."

1.City Nights
2.Secrets
3.54 Duncan Terrace
4.Joshua
5.Spokes
6.Maid Marion
7.Peril Premonition
8.Endomorph

Thanks to my buddy Hoof_Hearted for this post!

link in comments

Miles Davis - Star People

Great, out of print '80s Miles fusion album, featuring John Scofield on guitar.

Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet) Bill Evans (saxes), Al Foster (drums), Marcus Miller (bass), John Scofield (guitar) and Mike Stern (guitar)

1.Come Get It
2.It Gets Better
3.Speak
4.Star People
5.U ' N ' I
6.Star On Cicely

link in comments

John McLaughlin - Industrial Zen

Personnel: John McLaughlin (vocals, guitar, fretless guitar, programming, drum programming); Shankar Mahadevan (vocals); Eric Johnson (guitar); Ada Rovatti, Bill Evans (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Gary Husband (keyboards, drums); Otmaro Ruiz (synthesizer); Hadrien Faraud, Tony Gray, Matthew Garrison (bass guitar); Mark Mondasir, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Zakir Hussain (tabla); Marcus Wippersberg (drum programming).

It’s been six years since John McLaughlin released a flat-out fusion record, but the guitar icon has been talking about Industrial Zen for some time, generating considerable buzz in the process. And it’s been worth the wait. The Promise (Verve, 1995), McLaughlin's last recording with a large cast, rather than a fixed ensemble, was an inconsistent effort. While it revealed his diverse musical interests, it was more a collection of disparate pieces than a unified statement. The thrilling and altogether more cohesive Industrial Zen combines McLaughlin’s high-octane playing with the Indian influences that have pervaded much of his career.

Rather than drawing a strict line between Indo-fusion projects like Remember Shakti and powerhouse bands like The Heart of Things, McLaughlin brings them together here. Tabla player Zakir Hussain, a long-time collaborator, joins Heart of Things drummer Dennis Chambers, bassist Matthew Garrison and keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz on “To Bop or Not to Be.” McLaughlin’s Indian-informed melody is layered on top of hypnotic synthesizer programming that, as a fundamental complexion of the entire record, lends credence to its paradoxical title. But once the band kicks in, McLaughlin demonstrates his encyclopaedic command of a broader musical language. By combining jazz-centric harmonic complexity with Eastern linear depth, his solo transcends both and becomes both unique and universal.

McLaughlin brings ‘80s Mahavishnu alumnus/saxophonist Bill Evans, together with relative newcomers/drummers Mark Mondesir and Gary Husband for the upbeat “For Jaco.” Bassist Hadrien Feraud—who also appears on the equally energetic homage to Carlos Santana, “Senõr C.S.”—pays fitting tribute to the late Pastorius, even quoting “Continuum” on the tune’s outro. Husband, who built his reputation through early association with another fusion legend, guitarist Allan Holdsworth, proves he’s equally imaginative, whether on the keyboards or the kit. Appearing in one or both capacities on five of the eight tunes on Industrial Zen, he’s the closest thing to a constant companion as McLaughlin has on the disc.

1.For Jaco
2.New Blues Old Bruise
3.Wayne's Way
4.Just So Only More So
5.To Bop Or Not To Be (For Michael Brecker)
6.Dear Dalai Lama
7.Senor C.S.
8.Mother Nature

link in comments

John McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist

Personnel: John McLaughlin- guitar; Carlos Santana-guitar; Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Walden, Tony Smith, Tony Williams- drums; Stu Goldberg, Tom Coster, Patrice Rushen, Chick Corea-keyboards; many others


If you listen to McLaughlin's version of “My Foolish Heart” from 1978's Johnny McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist, it's hard to logically explain how the same guitar player had also produced the sounds found on so many of his earlier records. It's hard to reconcile this tune with his approach on his debut Extrapolation, Miles' Tribute to Jack Johnson, Larry Coryell's Spaces, and various recordings by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. None of those earlier performances would have prepared you for McLaughlin's beautiful treatment of Victor Young and Nat Washington's jazz standard. His warm and serene arrangement sounds like the antithesis of what McLaughlin was known for. (review from allaboutjazz.com)

1.New York On My Mind
2.Frienship
3.Every Tear From Every Eye
4.Do You Hear The Voices You Left Behind?
5.Are You The One? Are You The One?
6.Phenomenon: Compulsion
7.My Foolish Heart

link in comments

John Scofield - Blue Matter

---

Personnel: John Scofield, Hiram Bullock (electric guitar); Mitchell Forman (keyboards); Gary Grainger (electric bass); Dennis Chambers (drums); Don Alias (percussion).

BLUE MATTER is finger-poppin' good. Sco's brand of jazz/blues rock is red-hot and scorching on this superb set, aided by journeyman Dennis Chambers on the traps, keyboardist Mitchell Forman, Weather Report alumnus Don Alias (providing percussives), and engaging bassist Gary Grainger. In fact, Grainger's funk-pop licks are what anchor the superb title track to earth, providing the right base for Scofield's conversant guitar fronds and Forman's dreamy keys.

On "Trim", Scofield bounces some Wes Montgomery spikes all over a rousing funkscape. The disc also offers the brash urban kickstep of "So You Say" and the introspective frissons surrounding "Time Marches On." Like fellow guitar master Pat Metheny, Scofield understands subtlety and finesse. He knows when to amplify and when to relax. With BLUE MATTER, he demonstrates that his ability to swing finds its ideal middle ground between both poles.

1.Blue Matter
2.Trim
3.Heaven Hill
4.So You Say
5.Now She's Blonde
6.Make Me
7.The Nag
8.Time Marches On

link in comments

John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Williams - Trio of Doom

A band made up of the godfather of fusion guitar, the undisputed greatest innovator of the electric bass guitar and the best drummer of them all is a fusion jazz dream. And for the very briefest of time, John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams formed a power trio to top all power trios. One that Jaco coined "The Trio Of Doom."

1.Drum Improvisation (previously unreleased, Live)
2.Dark Prince - (previously unreleased, Live)
3.Continuum - (previously unreleased, Live)
4.Para Orient - (previously unreleased, Live)
5.Are You The One, Are You The One? - (previously unreleased, Live)
6.Dark Prince - (Studio)
7.Continuum - (Studio)
8.Para Oriente - (previously unreleased, Alternate Take One/Studio)
9.Para Oriente - (previously unreleased, Alternate Take Two/Studio)
10.Para Oriente - (Studio)

link in comments

John Scofield - Still Warm

Personnel includes: John Scofield (guitar); Don Grolnick (keyboards); Darryl Jones (bass); Omar Hakim (drums).

One of John Scofield's finest mid-1980s outings as a leader, STILL WARM finds the revered jazz guitarist settling into a set of funk-tinged fusion. The tight yet adventurous rhythm section of bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Omar Hakim allows Scofield to unfurl his impressively agile six-string lines, which can stray into rock and blues territory. Keyboardist Don Grolnick adds unexpected, sometimes downright strange textures to the compositions, reining in his quirky flourishes to wonderful effect on the delicately beautiful title track.

1.Techno
2.Still Warm
3.High And Mighty
4.Protocol
5.Rule Of Thumb
6.Picks And Pans
7.Gil B643

link in comments

Welcome to the Fusion Powered blog!

The sound and power of fusion, now in blog form.



Where the heck did you ever go on the interwebs before this?