BARCELONA TRACTION

The eponymous debut album by this Catalan trio can be probably better defined as Electric Jazz than as Jazz-Rock, partly because there are no guitars, but it can still be very groovy and nearly rocking at times. We have a very solid rhythmic section with Jordi Clua at the bass and Francis Rabassa at the drums supported by 2 guest percussionists, while all the melodic and soloing work is taken care by keyboardist Lucky Guri, with predominance of acoustic piano and Rhodes and some Moog here and there for the atmospheres and some lead lines. It is completely instrumental.

The music is very accessible and melodic and conforms for the most part to classical jazz structure with alternating melodical lines and improvisation, but it shows strong and tasteful musicianship and it is performed skillfully. Actually Lucky Guri continued his career focusing on proper jazz and became perhaps the most respected jazz pianist in Barcelona.

The opener 'Has vist passar els ocells' (You have seen the birds passing) is perhaps the worst song from a prog listener perspective, with a very sweet and accessible, relaxed- tempo melody and improvisation in Rhodes. This could be played in a cruise boat. Still it contains quality details in particular in the apparently simple but subtly great rhythmic section.

'Modulacions' is proper modern jazz. It starts with 2 minutes of groovy piano introduction after which powerful and syncopated drums and bass join, and gradually develop into a fast jam with a great piano improvisation ending in typical jazz structure with a coda to the melody for the last half minute.

'Estudi en Afro' has another beautiful piano intro until the rhythm section enters to form a pattern of alternating 7/8 and 4/4 beats on which Guri deploys more the synth for the melodical lines and soloing. Around the middle it gets groovier with the addition of latin-like percussions and a Rhodes improvisation and ends again with a coda back to the main melody.

'Sudamerica' has many interesting tempo changes, it starts with soft Rhodes and soon drums and bass join forming an accessible mid-tempo tune alternating melody and improvisation, but as from 2m00s the structure gets more complex with constant tempo switching between slow and fast, some wah-wah bass soloing and a gradual crescendo ending up with frantic piano soloing. Great stuff.

The closer 'Foc I Pluja' (Fire and Rain) is a very loose interpretation of the song by James Taylor and probably the most adventurous track. After an atmospheric introduction the bass starts a simple and repetitive but very catchy line and the melody is introduced in Rhodes, but quickly develops into a long improvisation. Around 5m15 we have a melodical break and a return to improvisation, this time with added percussions, and a final melodical break returning to the atmospheric introduction theme and song melody line.

There is nothing groundbreaking in this album and it will not appeal to listeners looking for the more complex or heavy side of Jazz-Rock, but I find it a real pleasure to listen to and I highly recommend it to those who can enjoy straightforward but impeccably composed and performed Jazz-Rock leaning more to the Jazz that to the Rock.

Shortly after this album Lucky Guri moved to Musica Urbana and although the band continued playing for a while with Josep Maria Duran as keyboardist they did not release any other album and eventually broke up around 1977. The original line-up with Guri rejoined and released a 2nd and final album in 1982 titled Nano which I do not have but reportedly moves further away from the Rock side and deepens in proper Jazz with some funky and Cabaret music elements.

1. "Has Vist Passar Els Ocells" (5:00) very solid and enjoyable melodic and smooth j-r Fusion. Great bass and percussion work beneath the melody-generating Fender Rhodes. (9/10)

2. "Modulacions" (6:03) 90 seconds of okay blues-jazz piano before anyone else joins in. okay. (8.5/10)

3. Estudi En Afro (7:15) Lucky Guri solos on his piano for the opening minute in a very Vince Guaraldi-like style. Then he takes a break while Jordi Clua establishes a bass line that Francis Rabassa plays off of until Lucky's synthesizer, organ, and electric piano can join in. Jordi's wah-wah-pedaled bass is very interesting (and slightly distracting). Two different yet smoothly-connected motifs alternate over the course of the next minutes with Lucky's soloing moving from instrument to instrument above the solid, creative, and interesting work of the rhythm section--until 4:25, that is, when everybody takes a sudden right turn down a steep hill so that Lucky can Bob James solo on his Fender Rhodes. I must say, I am increasingly happy with the way the band/producer/engineer have mixed the instrumental palette with the percussion, bass, and drums as distinctively clear and forward as the lead instruments. More synth and Fender Rhodes soloing before a dynamic piano finish. Nice! (13.5/15)

4. Sudamerica (7:25) Another pristine and (to my ears) perfect mix of the full band over a definite Latin (even, perhaps, South American) sound during which Lucky Guri gets the first extended lead and solo with his Fender Rhodes. This is followed by a couple brief stints given to Jordi Clua to shine on both his electric bass as well as his stand-up double bass. Francis Rabassa's drums and Padrito Diaz and Manel Joseph's percussion play, as usual, add so much to this-- almost, at times, to the distraction of the "lead" keyboard instruments. The second, quick-paced motif that the band alternates between is so awesome--like the frenzied outro of some Latin jam--with Lucky hammering his piano with full chords in an awesome! (It reminds me of one of my favorite Jane Siberry songs, "Are We Dancing Now? (Map III)" from her 1989 album release, Bound by the Beauty.) This is definitely my favorite song on the album. (14.5/15)

5. "Foc I Pluja" (8:50) wind chimes and other percussion sounds with Fender Rhodes open this one. Drummer Francis Rabassa only enters with some delicate cymbal play in the second minute. At 1:38 Lucky Guri begins establishing a lullaby-like melody on his electric piano before he and the percussionist swell to serve notice to bassist Jordi Clua to enter. Drums follow and a nice Latin groove is established while Lucky moves into a chord play reproduction of some familiar pop melody. In the second half of the fourth minute the band subtly moves into a smoother, more sophisticated and jazz-like motif. Very cool how smoothly they made that transition! Now Lucky and Francis are both playing full-on jazz but then at 5:15 they kind of come back to a Bob James-like smooth jazz bridge before returning to the sophisticated motif for some wah-wah-effected bass soloing from Jordi. It's okay: melodic and quirky, but fails as a funk solo. Percussion and Fender take the next brief solos before Lucky returns to that familiar pop melody line while the rhythm section remains in fourth gear. But then at 7:40 a cymbal crash signifies the end of all instrumentalist's contributions save for Lucky's pensive chord play on the Fender Rhodes. Odd song! But interesting! Nice drum and percussion work, boys! (17.75/20)

Total Time 34:33

It is rare that one encounters an album in which the drums, bass, and percussion are mixed so evenly forward with the other instruments in the sound palette. This really gives the percussionists a chance to not only be noticed but to shine! The steady, defined tracks with the smooth keyboard sounds and play of band leader Lucky Guri definitely render this album into the fray of the new "Smooth Jazz" domain--one of my new favorites from that category. And did I mention the great drumming of Francis Rabassa?

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of very well composed, admirably performed, and excellently engineered Smooth Jazz that I think all prog lovers should give a listen to.