Featured Artist: Gary Willis-Llibert Fortuny-Kirk Covington
CD Title: Slaughterhouse 3
Year: 2007
Record Label: Abstract Logix
Style: Fusion
Musicians: Gary Willis (bass), Kirk Covington (drums), and Llibert Fortuny (saxophone).
Review:Co-founder of the jazz-fusion ensemble Tribal Tech, Gary Willis has blossomed into one of the finest post-Jaco bassists and has few peers in the business. On this hyper-mode session, Willis and fellow Tribal Tech drummer Kirk Covington align with up-and-coming Spanish saxophonist Llibert Fortuny for a pleasantly twisted, hi-tech jazz-fusion romp.
Interestingly enough, Fortuny uses an arsenal of EFX pedals to supplement his conventional use of saxes. To paraphrase pro-wrestling lingo, this unit abides by a no-holds-barred methodology credo, where bizarre sounds are integrated with steamy funk-rock vibes. It’s a power trio for the new age! Here, Covington slams matters into overdrive via his pounding jazz-rock/funk pulses while bashing his china cymbals into submission. In addition, Willis’ thumping and roaring e-bass lines provide a lucid bottom end for Fortuny’s contorted effects-centric phrasings that elicit notions of a Jimi Hendrix-like exponent of jazz saxophone.
With the piece titled “Life’s Story,” the saxophonist lays out a jazzy framework atop Willis’ flickering and slithery notes. In other regions of sound, Fortuny’s manipulations are designed with distortion processes and phase-shifting maneuvers. Sure, some folks are wondering if its largely about electro-gimmickry. On the contrary, Fortuny and Willis use studio processing techniques and EFX to generate a signature group-based stylization. They embed superb musicianship with a focused game plan that provides a noticeable boost to one’s neural network. Exciting, atypical and thoroughly entertaining, the musicians generate high heat amid a few nicely placed curves throughout.
Record Label Website: http://www.abstractlogix.com
Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita
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