| Jazz Fusion, Jazz metal |
If you’ve spent your formative musical years, particularly between the late 1970s and mid-1980s, immersed in jazz fusion shaded with world music sensibilities, this album may not catch you entirely off guard. It might even feel familiar. For those less steeped in the genre, and especially for listeners coming from the world of rock, this could offer a fresh and intriguing discovery. Yet, it’s important to set expectations: this is not the kind of transcultural alchemy mastered by guitarists like Nguyên Lê, who blends musical traditions with both intellectual sophistication and an almost singular elegance.
In contrast, this record often succumbs to an overwhelming sound palette, dominated by hyperactive drumming that at times evokes the percussive assault more typically found in certain strands of metal than in jazz. This sonic density, rather than opening new pathways, tends to obscure the subtleties and emotional nuances that make jazz such a rich and exploratory terrain.
Things begin to cohere somewhat by the third track, “Spellbound,” where one can finally begin to discern some of the album’s deeper intentions. But even here, the relentless drumming grows wearying for listeners attuned to more measured or intricate rhythms. Perhaps it’s a matter of musical culture or taste, but this is one of the rare albums this year that left me struggling to find a lasting point of connection.
That said, this project isn’t without significant credentials. Known for collaborations with some of the biggest names in the jazz world, the bassist and leader of the project, hailed by Bass Player magazine readers as one of the most exciting bassists on the global scene, assembles an impressive roster of talent. Among them: drumming legend Dennis Chambers, guitar virtuoso John Etheridge, and the extraordinary sitarist Roopa Panesar. The musicianship is consistently high, and some melodic lines do manage to pierce through the haze, resonating with genuine feeling.
However, the interplay between bass and drums often weighs down the compositions, robbing them of the poetic lift they might otherwise have achieved. There are moments that seem to strive for transcendence, only to be dragged earthward by an overbearing rhythmic foundation. The result is an album that leans far more heavily toward rock than jazz, perhaps best categorized as rock/fusion.
Which brings us to a broader challenge increasingly faced by both critics and listeners: how does one classify a record that defies genre boundaries so completely? This album is a prime example of such hybridity.
Judged strictly within a jazz framework, I remain unconvinced. It feels too forceful, too saturated, lacking the air and space that jazz, especially fusion, often needs to breathe. As a jazz album, I would give it three stars.
However, viewed through the lens of progressive or fusion rock, it could easily be considered a standout, perhaps even a favorite for some. It’s a curious, genre-blurring endeavor that may appeal to a wide spectrum of listeners, but its gravitational center is firmly on the rock side of the spectrum rather than the jazz one.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, July 2nd 2025
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To buy this album
(CD and LP)
Musicians :
Shez Raja – bass guitar
Dennis Chambers – drums
Guthrie Govan – electric guitar
John Etheridge – electric guitar Roopa Panesar – sitar
Tony Kofi – saxophone
Ahsan Papu – bansuri
Zohaib Hassan – sarangi
Fiza Haider – voice
Gurdain Rayatt – tabla
Vasilis Xenopoulos – saxophone Sophie Alloway – drums
Jamie Murray – drums
Chris Jerome – keyboards
Tracklist :
Quantum spirits
Maharishi mindtrip
Spellbound
Together we fly
Lucid path to the golden lotus
Vishnu
Through the multiverse
Quantum spirits (Live)
Rabbits (Live)