ABRAXIS

1. "Clear Hours" (2:32) great upbeat jazz rock fusion with a light funk to it (not unlike some of COS' music from this time--the Viva Boma era). The use of bright, cheerful flute in the mix is delightful--as is the wonderful (9/10)

2. "Valse De La Mort" (16:14) opening with a very serious, slow-paced almost classical pastiche with flutist Dirk Bogaert leading the way over piano, classically-played acoustic guitar, and bass--no drums. In the fourth minute the music even moves more into the domain of classical sounding music as Bogaert and pianist Charles Loos duet--eventually becoming a more sonata form for Loos' dynamic solo piano until 5:22 when Charles hands it over to Dirk: solo flute time. Hi-hat, and metronomic bass drum and rim shots enter near the end of the seventh minute supporting Dirk while he finishes his solo. At 7:49 deep thrum of electric bass and electronic keyboard enter, setting up a kind of dreamy yet-suggestive carpet for guitarist Paul Elias to start up some electric guitar soloing. In the tenth minute the band really explodes beneath Paul's fiery guitar playing as the drummer bursts into full kit exposition. A return to soft carpet mode for a bit while electric piano solos, exploding again for Charles to switch to a Moog-like synth for some soloing, but then everybody re-gels into a softer, gentler motif as they return to acoustic instruments (except for Jean- Paul's electric bass). Flute and piano dance around one another for several minutes while the guitar and toms sit out (thought nuanced cymbal play remains in full participation). Charles takes over again for a piano solo in the 14th and 15th minutes while flute-like organ chords support from beneath. A whole band acoustic bridge at 14:45 moves into a brief transitional series of chaotic jazz chords before the band comes out the other side with a nice little two-chord HATFIELD AND THE NORTH funky motif and palette--which they then use to take the song to its end. I'm not sure how the composer came up with the progression of all of these very different (and seemingly unrelated) motifs for the movements of this suite but it all seems to work--and they're all rather expertly, even adroitly, convincingly, transitioned from one to the next. The composition and performances are all top notch. The song, however, does not contain enough catchy melodies or hypnotic grooves to earn my top marks. (27/30) 3. "Sweetank" (4:26) using a rather unusual combination of upper and lower register electric funky bass, wah-wahed distorted electric piano to fill the middle ground of the rhythm track, and funk drumming with electric guitar, flute, and some electric piano and Moog synthesizer sounds to fill the lead positions, this is a catchy tune with a great chord progression to push and pull all of the odd sounds together. Nice blues-jazz guitar work from Paul Elias. There's even time for a solo from virtuoso bassist Jean-Paul Musette--here paired up perfectly with an astute drummer (which one?). The final minute of flying Jazz-Rock is sublime for its seamless flow of three different motifs. (9.3333/10)

4. "Billy The Keith" (3:54) either the flute is being fed through a sound effect processor or Charles Loos' keyboard combination is replicating a wobbly flute sound (probably the former as Charles other sounds seem to occupy a lot of hands--or tracks). The song is a bit too subdued for my tastes though I comprehend the difficulty it is to play all of the tracks of this subtly-nuanced weave while maintaining some semblance of cohesion. (8.75/10)

5. "Jeronimo" (1:58) a quick exploration of a particular set of melody ideas that seems to inspire the whole band into solidarity and high-discipline. (4.5/5)

6. "Bolle Winkel" (6:46) a more theatric composition that reminds me of some of the great music from A Chorus Line though the drumming sounds very Billy Cobham-like. The second minute sees the band take a left turn down a high speed lane in which many of the band members can be seen to be hanging out their privvy clothes on the laundry lines above. An odd, almost crazy cacophonous choice of instrumental sounds and ejaculations ensues until Jean- Paul's breathy flute screams its way to the front in the fourth minute, inciting a riotous response from the bass, wah- wah-ed guitar, and electric keys. At 4:45 everybody but the drums and bass cut out for a rather dynamic (and great!) bluesy pseudo-classical Bob James-like piano solo--which almost takes us to the end. This is a song that kept getting better and better the further it went along. (13.5/15)

7. "Arhumba" (1:42) moving back into the near-classical realm of jazz music, this piece sounds like something transposed from a Django-Grappelli duet. (4.375/5)

Total time: 37:34

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion exhibiting some very highly-skilled musicianship and composition. Were this album longer--to have included but one more full-length composition--it may have earned masterpiece status.

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