Instrumental

The music collected here was woven into existence in a three-day period of live in the studio recording with my colleagues jim anton and jt bates. The sounds captured reveal the fruits of uncounted hours of ensemble building; stretching and merging the possibilities of strict part-playing with wide open explorations of each melodic moment.

Fusion

Scramble liner notes by Howard Levy - “From the beginning of the first track of “SCRAMBLE”, Kick the Cat's new CD, you can tell that you are listening to a band guided by a deep musical intelligence. The combined compositional sense and playing ability of the four band members, plus the excellent recording quality, makes for a interesting and surprising musical journey from beginning to end.

Fusion

Kick the Cat is Chicago's most highly acclaimed fusion ensemble. Since forming in 1996, the band has been wowing audiences with their high energy shows. Their compositions are grounded in the traditions of jazz, rock and funk and feature complex harmony, odd time signatures, and extended improvisations. The group's spontaneity and uncanny communication make each of their live performances a unique adventure in interactive music-making.

Fusion

The Wild Call of the Multi-Tasker, the debut album by the Aaron Koppel Quartet, has a lot going for it.  The musicianship is superb, the tunes are atmospheric, and there's a cohesiveness to the album that occasionally offers a very elusive quality.  All in all, it's a nice way to start off a young career.

Fusion

Fuzzy offers listeners a chance to experience something intriguing. It has a familiar, yet original sound to it. The emotional dynamic is phenomenal creating an intense energy that will challenge the listener. Fuzzy is a record that won’t allow you to assign any genre. It is an art unto itself.

Fusion

A guitar in the hands of Oz Noy can be a dangerous beast, barely contained. Speed licks, tasty chops, and sonic assaults are the order of the day, all with an ever-present groove. Jazz fusion legend Mike Stern calls Oz Noy "a fantastic guitar player...one of the best I've ever seen."

Bass / Fusion

"The Book of Flame brings together the thorny mathematics of Michael Manring's tuning theories with his wide-ranging artistic vision, the unalloyed metal aggression of Thonk with the melodic and textural sensibilities of Drastic Measures, the icy austerity of electronica and the sensuality of Afro-Asian modes and rhythms. The resulting construction could collapse under its own weight if not for Michael's maturing compositional sense and his always-lurking sense of humor." - Bass Player Magazine

Fusion

'What We Do', the trio's third album, is a collection of contemporary jazz standards done their way. Taking compositions by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins, among others, MMS breaks the songs down and builds them back up, drawing on their insanely deep well of talent, as well as the sonic treatments of noted guitarist/texturalist David Torn, who mixed the album. The first pressing comes with a bonus live CD (documenting the band's first gig together) while supplies last.

Jazz / Fusion

The two-disc set is divided into two logical segments. Disc one emphasizes Holdsworth’s trademark legato guitar work and mind-boggling close chordal harmonies. Disc two features Holdsworth’s work on the Synthaxe.

Fusion / Blues

Well to the Bone is Scott Henderson's third solo outing and perhaps his best to date. Unlike the first two releases, "Dog Party" and "Tore Down House" which were heavily blues influenced, "Well to the Bone" is somewhat of an enigma and hard to categorize into any one genre. Nevertheless, the songs and guitar compositions are probably the best Henderson has ever penned.

Jazz / Fusion

Live Double Disk CD. Bluegrass banjo whiz Bela Fleck formed the Flecktones in 1990 with jazz pianist Howard Levy, funk bassist Victor Wooten, and electronic-drummer Roy Wooten. Since then the band had become legendary and pioneered a genre all their own, mixing virtuosic musicianship with experimental, bluegrass, jazz, and pop influences.

Jazz / Fusion

Bluegrass banjo whiz Bela Fleck formed the Flecktones in 1990 with jazz pianist Howard Levy, funk bassist Victor Wooten, and electronic-drummer Roy Wooten. Since then the band had become legendary and pioneered a genre all their own, mixing virtuosic musicianship with experimental, bluegrass, jazz, and pop influences.

Bass / Fusion

In 1981, while still with Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius trust this topnotch big band into anything that appealed to his vast jazz imagination from steel drum Caribbean to the Soul and Funk of of R&B. On board are Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter,Peter Erskine, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Don Alias, and others.

Bass / Fusion

Heavy Weather is Weather Report's seventh album, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. It was the band's second album with bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, though this marked the first album as a far more prominent figure. Featuring their classic jazz standard "Birdland", the album is one of the best-sellers in the Columbia jazz catalog. The album is considered a landmark album in the jazz-rock or 'Fusion' movement of the 1970's.

Fusion

Jeff Beck is a true rock legend. From his time with the Yardbirds in the sixties, through the Jeff Beck Group and throughout his solo career his unique guitar style and constant desire to explore new musical areas and sounds has won him the admiration of his peers and the adoration of legions of fans. In 2007 Jeff Beck performed a series of concerts at the renowned Ronnie Scott's club in London. They became the must have ticket of the year with a packed audience every night of the famous and the fans. This CD features performances recorded across the different nights and presents the best version of each track.

Fusion

Blow By Blow is a solo album by British electric guitarist Jeff Beck. The Epic Records release, recorded in October 1974, was released in 1975. As an all-instrumental album it was a surprising commercial success, with a jazz fusion-like approach seldom seen on best-selling lists at the time. It was certified gold in 1976.

Fusion

Powerful jazz-rock fusion with a touch of funk, WIRED is Beck's follow-up to the popular BLOW BY BLOW. Extending on the blues breakthroughs he made with the Yardbirds, Beck's style had by this time crystalized into something lyric and soaring, showing the influence of John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, while retaining the slightly manic edge that has remained his trademark.

Fusion

There and Back, found Jeff Beck moving from old keyboard partner Jan Hammer (three tracks) to new one Tony Hymas (five), which turned out to be the difference between competition and support. If it were anybody else, you'd say that this was a transitional album, but this was the only studio album Beck released between 1976 and 1985.

Jazz / Fusion

Extrapolation is John McLaughlin's debut solo album. It was recorded at Advision Studios in London on January 18, 1969 and released later that year by Giorgio Gomelsky's Marmalade Records and distributed by Polydor Records.

Jazz / Fusion

The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's first studio album. The back cover of the LP features a poem entitled "Aspiration" by Sri Chinmoy. A remastered version of the album, on CD, was released in 1998 by Sony Music Entertainment. It features a facsimile of the LP front cover, a new set of liner notes by Bob Belden, as well as many photographs of the band. The Inner Mounting Flame consists solely of original compositions by John McLaughlin. He was also the producer.

Jazz / Fusion

Birds of Fire (1973) is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's second studio album and the last one performed by the original Mahavishnu Orchestra line-up, before Jean-Luc Ponty replaced Jerry Goodman on violin and Narada Michael Walden replaced Billy Cobham on drums. As in the case of The Mahavishnu Orchestra's previous album, The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire consisted solely of compositions by John McLaughlin.