One of the best fusion
artists this year - that would be this
CD folks, Jeff Richman’s Hotwire. Featuring Richman along
with an all-star lineup of musicians and produced by legendary bassist Jimmy
Haslip. The incredible musicality of this project blew me away from track one.
The song writing is excellent, but Jeff’s melodic playing is just a joy to
listen to. Listening to each tune, you hear Jeff pouring his heart into every
phrase and the sound he coaxes out of his guitar is beyond measure of what is
on the market in fusion today. I have bought a lot of fusion CDs in the past
couple of years, this one really shines.
The band Jeff has put together
and their sound and sense of "gel" is one of utmost quality. Each musicians kicks butt! Very impressive
cuts are: “Hit Spot,” “Seven Up,” “Oh Yeah,” “North Shore,” “Solar City,” and “Miles
Per Hour” the later features Mike Stern as a guest guitarist and he is brilliant
as usual. Jeff’s distinctive writing style and unique guitar vocabulary makes
this project have a perfect cohesive mix!
Hotwire proves to the jazz fusion world and listeners, that there is
still something worth listing to! I feel the jazz fusion genre these past
couple years has been very lame and really not satisfactory for the jazz
musician's ear. Hotwire it's well worth it, overall an excellent, excellent CD.
Players: Guitar:Jeff Richman; Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta, Gary Novak, Gergo Borlai;
Bass: Jimmy Haslip, Anthony Jackson, Dean Taba; Keyboards: George Whitty, Scott
Kinsey, Mitchel Forman, Jeff Lorber, Gary Fukashima; Horns: Brandon Fields,
Jeff Beal. Special guest: Guitar: Mike Stern
