Fusion
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
Caravanserai
Welcome
Moonflower
Columbia/Legacy
I rarely ever play my copy of Carlos Santana's pop masterpiece Supernatural. I am proudly an old Santana guy. Label me a "Black Magic Woman," "Evil Ways" and "Tell Me Are You Tired" type. Columbia must have heard me whining about Carlos' rise to pop superstardom...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
Hooteroll?
Evolver
The Grateful Dead's legendary leader Jerry Garcia has always been considered a very good guitarist with versatility to match. And on Hooteroll? (Evolver), a 1971 collaboration with keyboardist Howard Wales, Garcia has plenty of moments to demonstrate that...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
Soul Serenade
Columbia Jazz
Soul Serenade (Columbia) by the Derek Trucks Band is one of the best albums I have heard this year. It won't matter how this album is classified, either, because it has it all. For those who liked Allman Brothers guitarist Trucks on his eponymous band's...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
The First Seven Days
Columbia/Legacy
Keyboardist Jan Hammer recorded an album in 1975 called The First Seven Days (Columbia/Legacy). Like Duke Ellington's sacred concerts and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, it was musician as preacher or philosopher. The First Seven Days has been lying dormant...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
Cave Men
J2K
What do you call an album recorded at a studio in North Hollywood, California called the Cave? Bassist J.K. Kleutgens and guitarist Antti Kotikoski naturally call their album Cave Men (J2K). Tenor and soprano saxophonist Steve Tavaglione and drummer Vinnie...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
Abracadabra
Tone Center
Soft Works features ex-members of the legendary jazz-rock group Soft Machine, including bassist Hugh Hopper, saxophonist Elton Dean and drummer John Marshall along with frequent guest Machine guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Dean dominates the group's first offering...
October 2003 By Brian Gilmore
The Rites
Avantgroid
Guitarist and Village Voice writer Greg Tate's Burnt Sugar has been one of the most hyped bands I have ever encountered on the Web. Their future as a cutting-edge operation is secure, though I am hardly satisfied with the group's latest offering, The Rites...
