IDENTIDADE

I must say that I was not exactly excited when I got this CD from a friend. I heard it was a band from the guitarrist of brazilian synphonic prog group Quartema Requiem, so I was thinking that it could be either a poor copy of that band or an ego trip. When I finally put it to play I was delighted to find out it was neither. In the end Identidade comes across as one of the best instrumental prog albums I heard in recent years. Jones Junior (guitars and flute) shows great skill and good taste all over the CD and the three band members are also great musicians.

The music here is a guitar-led symphonic prog with lots of classical, jazz and latin influences. Vintage sounding keyboards give a 70´s flavour on all the tracks. Some parts remind a lot of Focus best moments (Opus 1- Marina is a good example). Although the excellent musicanship of all involved is clear, they never get lost in pointless jams or noodling, not even when they risk it into the muddy waters of Zappa-like jazzy parts (Fogo de Santelmo). It is music with discernible melodies and tight arrangements. Excellent drumming, great bass runs and swapping keys and guitar solos are the main course (some brilliant flute moments too, by the way).

Production is excellent. There are no fillers and all the songs are on the same level. Not much more to say. You hear it, you judge. For my part, I just keep pressing the repeat button over and over when I hear this CD. I don´t know about other index albums, and I´m gonna get them sooner or later, but I was hooked by this one.

Rating: I was going to give it a 4 or 4,5 star rating because some jazz-rock/fusion parts are not really my cup of tea. However, even those parts are so well done and tasteful that I ended up loving them too. Hence, five stars. A masterpiece of prog music, no less. Highly recommended! But be warned! Highly addictive too.