SOUNDCHECK

Polish keyboard master who had been super busy since 1972, apparently having played with some of Sweden's jazz- rock fusion stars, met Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson while working on compatriot Michal URBANIAK (Jean-Luc PONTY, DZAMBLE, NEIMEN, Larry CORYELL)'s Fusion III and FUNK FACTORY albums in 1975.

1. "Soundcheck" (4:32) Wlodek sure picked a winning combo for his rhythm section! The style and sound presented here is pure Chick Corea/Return To Forever--even using his keys to mimic the Al Di Meola guitar inputs as well as plenty of moments reminding the listener of Chick Corea. The sythm track is so excellent that it'd be hard for Wlodek to go wrong no matter what he chose to play! Though the overall effect is still Jazz-Rock Fusion, the melodic dictates of the rising Smooth Jazz and Yacht Rock strains are fully present here. (9.25/10)

2. "Truth-Seeker" (5:49) another great very smooth and easily-accessible Chick Corea-like motif that is spread out (dumbed down) a bit as if to give the listener more space and time with which to digest and hear the melodies and hooks. Not quite on a BOB AJMES level of Easy Listening, but almost. (8.875/10)

3. "Manhattan Vibes" (5:24) playful keyboard play that almost feels like a child playing with the keyboard most talkie- voice-like synth sounds, all occurring over some simplified simple funk. I'll give Wlodek credit: his affinity for trying to recreate human voicings with his arsenal of keyboard sounds is nearly matched by his success at doing so. I can just see the animated robotrons interacting and conversing with so much of his musical antics. (8.75/10)

4. "Love Is Back" (5:06) sounds like a slowed down version of a RETURN TO FOREVER song--lifted straight from Chick's tapes. As a matter of fact, there are so many sound and structural similiarities on this song to the music on Al Di MEOLA's first two albums it makes one wonder why Al didn't just hire Wlodek as one of his keyboard players (though Jan Hammer is tough to top) or why Wlodek couldn't lure Al over for some guitar (8.875/10)

5. "Pan-Jan" (3:29) this one feels like a reprise (or repeat!) of the "Manhattan Vibes" song with a little RTF-like bridge into a second, clavinet-supported motif and then back to the BOB JAMES-like Fender Rhodes-supported synth shlock. It's not bad--at least the rhythm track is solid and impressive--but there is this nervous feeling I'm getting that either I'm going to be brainwashed into liking this stuff or numbed into accepting it into the same world as the more serious jazz-rock fusion explorers like Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, or Herbie Hancock. (8.75/10)

6. "Lady G" (3:16) some slowed-down blues-pop rock shlock of the television theme song/soundtrack sort. Here Wlodek is almost debasing his talented rhythmatists (but, heck! They're getting paid, right?!) Playful in an almost-child- like way. (Did Mr. Rogers have a Fender Rhodes?) (8.375/10)

7. "Cosmic Strut" (3:20) Wlodek's favorite MiniMoog "child's toy that is almost a cute little voice" sound opens this before being joined by a simple, sparsely executed funk bass and drum rhythm. Nice melodies--especially in the chorus--but they're so Chick Corea-like! I do admire Wlodek's ability to take Chick's precedents and take them quite a bit forward (perhaps even helping to pave the way for the 1980s' Rap/R&B artists who use the synths for robot/alien voices). (8.75/10)

8. "One Time Sometime" (5:00) a decent if-at-times-disco rhythm track used to play with/expand upon multiple Chick Corea sounds and melody lines. The interweave of the three musicians' play in the third and fourth minute is most excellent! But then it goes downhill with a very annoying/cloying repetitive bass and drum Disco line locked in while Wladek messes around with silly sounds over the top--and then it fades out! Horrific! And the usurpation of the famous "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" melody line is almost sacriligious! (8.666667/10)

9. "Tribute To Frederic Chopin" (2:34) Solo piano opens this one (Pole to Pole, of course!) before being joined by keyboard synth strings support. Then Anthony and Steve are invited in to provide structured forward motion to Wlodek's piano chord-supported play on multiple synths. It's pretty! But it's definitely shlocky and simple. (8.666667/10)

Total time: 38:30

While I enjoyed being exposed to the sound-making genius of this keyboard player, I found myself a bit turned away by the artist's obsession with expanding upon the MiniMoog sounds that Chick Corea had been elevating to popular consciousness over the past two years or so. The guy is obviously quite talented; I hope there is some forward movement in the near future--that he doesn't get stuck here. B/four stars; some quite excellent keyboard experimentation that is often elevated by the support of an incomparable duo of accompanying rhythmatists (Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson) but sometimes it's not enough (or he is too much). HIGHLY recommended for the experience of hearing the masterful exploitation of the MiniMoog but probably not an album you'll want to return to very often much less own.