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Aurora: self-titled (CD, 73:10); Shroom Productions -SP99007, 1999
P.O. Box 130475
Houston, TX 77219-0475, USA
Phone: 415 327-6234
E-mail: shroom@trinicom.com
Cyberhome: http://www.shroomangel.com

	Naming themselves after a favorite Jean-Luc Ponty album, Aurora comes across quickly and 
clearly as a very capable jazz fusion group. Shroom Productions presents us with yet more of 
little-known, late ‘70s fusion gems right out of Texas, USA. Aurora’s Martin McCall (drums) and 
Mark Menikos (violin) both gigged briefly with the fusion group Hands. Add talented guitarist, 
Skip Sorelle, highly adept bassist Roy Vogt, and John Sharp on keys and you have Aurora.
	22 years ago this group opened many times for such greats as Larry Coryell but eventually 
band member visions clashed and other more profitable venues lured each away from Aurora 
making the fusion mainstream. This saddens and surprises me as Aurora really had their act 
together and was nearly on the same level of talent of any of those early Jean-Luc Ponty releases. 
In places you can hear Mahavishnu Orchestra unison runs, (“Opus 8"), and the keyboards of 
Passport or Tony Williams’ Lifetime, (“Within”).
	Sorelle’s guitar work is adequately jazz rock in unison lines but his soloing never gets close to 
the fiery fusion level of the likes of ‘70s-era Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin or Bill Connors. 
He’s a solid technician in riffing but the soulfired abandon and wild excursions that excite are 
lacking. That same violin-dominant formula of Ponty releases is clearly here in Menikos’ role in 
Aurora. He writes 50% of the material and his soloing is the clear strength of Aurora. Sharp and 
Sorelle each offer a couple of compositions but Menikos always steals the show. Aurora covers 
one Ponty tune, “Polyfolk Dance” and does a fine job of it.
	Choice cuts are the 11:51 “Opus 8" where everybody excels at all times, Sharp’s “Within” 
with keys extraordinaire, and Sorelle’s “Dancing on a Plain in Spain” with killer bass by Vogt. 
Menikos waxed extremely Urbaniak on this piece. The extended jam/ outro was very Al Di Meola 
and Jan Hammer. I could go on but I end here to say . . . Highly recommended fringe-zone fusion, 
grab this one.	~ John W. Patterson


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