Jazz / Fusion; Post-Bop; Crossover Jazz
Recorded: Jul-Aug 1976, Kendun Studios, Burbank, California
As of 1976, Jean-Luc Ponty's variations on the Mahavishnu Orchestra theme were still fresh and imaginative, cast in a distinctively different, more lyrical, more controlled framework. Ponty's instrumental lineup is identical to that of Mahavishnu -- electric violin, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums -- but he turns the emphasis on its head, with all commands coming directly from the violin (his) and less competitive crossplay emanating from his colleagues. For starters, "New Country" is a lively jazz-rock hoedown, one of those periodic C&W sidetrips that some fusioneers attempted for a lark, and "The Gardens of Babylon" is a wonderfully memorable tune, the beginnings of which grow out of 'New Country." The last half of the CD is taken up by the title composition, a strong four-part suite that hangs together with barely a sag in interest over its 20-minute span.
---Richard S. Ginell, allmusic
Jean-Luc Ponty - electric & acoustic violins, organ, synthesizers
Daryl Stuermer - electric & acoustic guitars
Allan Zavod - keyboards, piano
Tom Fowler - electric bass
Mark Craney - percussion |
