CD of the Week Dec.17-23, 2000

The Stranger's Hand-Jerry Goodman/Steve Smith/Howard Levy/Oteil Burbridge

Tone Center

Fusion is sometimes considered a dirty word in today’s music scene and mostly for good reason. Fusion is all too often watered down fluff or pretentious musical masturbation. The genre is full of virtuosos who are masters of their respective instruments, but who have no idea what soul is.

One recent exception to this is an album called The Stranger’s Hand which is out now on Tone Center. The musicians on the album come from a variety of backgrounds and never had played together before the sessions for this album. The group is held down by drummer Steve Smith. Smith is known quite well in the fusion world, but he originally made a name for himself drumming with Journey. Violinist Jerry Goodman was a member of one of the pioneering bands in fusion, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Bassist Oteil Burbridge came up playing with Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit and now plays bass for the Allman Brothers. Piano/harmonica player Howard Levy is a renowned session player who is most famous for his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

The music on this recording was largely composed on the spot with all members contributing to the writing. The music has s spontaneous feel to it that makes it dynamic and energetic. Smith is an extremely tight and inventive drummer and when he locks up with Oteil’s bass the groove is unmistakable. Goodman’s violin and Levy’s harmonica are the two main voices here and both are very unique. Jerry Goodman plays electric violin throughout, but if you weren’t listening carefully enough you could easily mistake his instrument for an electric guitar. Levy is one of the best harmonica players in the world. The harmonica is sort of an underrated instrument, but Levy’s playing brings new respect to the instrument. This release is also provides a nice chance to hear Levy play piano which is a rare treat. Levy is an amazingly gifted musician who seems at home in almost any musical setting. His songs like "Caliente" also provide the compositional highlights of the album.

While this disc is still fusion, it also has an edge and humanity to it. There are no synthesizers or other cheesy effects. My only complaints are that occasionally Goodman sounds a little too much like Eddie VanHalen and that Smith sometimes overplays, but these moments are overshadowed by the all around wonderful playing on 90% of this disc. These guys obviously had fun playing together and you can tell just from listening. There is a lot of genuine interaction and spontaneity. The music incorporates aspects of Jazz, Rock and even Folk and Country into the mix. This is a great release to listen to with headphones while lying down. I don’t normally care for fusion, but these guys won me over with this CD.