06/28/12

James Muller
Kaboom
Seed

By Bill Milkowski

Australian guitarist JamesMuller makes a potentstatement on his fourth release as a leader, originally issued in 2006 and recently re-pressed. Recorded in New York with drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Matt Penman, Kaboom showcases Muller’s startling six-string facility and fresh compositional style. Highlights include the swinging title track; the edgy “D Blues,” full of daring intervallic leaps and rapid-fire single-note streams; and Muller’s soulful and swinging tribute tune “Chick Corea,” on which he burns up the fretboard yet again. Muller closes with a straight reading of “All the Things You Are” that has him blowing over the bar line with jaw-dropping abandon. For sheer speed, spotless articulation and fertile ideas, Muller ranks right up there with fellow Aussie chopsmeister Frank Gambale.