E.E.R.

Rez Abbasi,  Modern Memory (CD, 61:13); Cathexis 93-0003-2, 1998
Cathexis Records
Phone: 888-635-6392
Cyberhome: www.cathexisrecords.com


          A few things are made clear by this recording: Guitarist Rez Abbasi 
has formidable chops, writes really good tunes, picks great 
musicians, and is a talent to watch out for. The core of the lineup 
on Modern Memory is Abbasi on electric and acoustic guitars, 
Michael Formanek on double bass, and Tony Moreno on drums. On several 
selections, Gary Thomas joins on tenor (and flute), Tim Hagans on 
trumpet, and Scott Whitfield on trombone. The horns work well 
together, especially on the head of "Third Ear." Thomas solos 
powerfully on "Next Year," "Rise Above," and "Monk's Dream," and his 
flute on "Every Sunday" is beautiful. I don't love how the tenor is 
recorded, however - a bit heavy on the reverb and not that warm. 
Hagans is featured on "Blu Vindaloo" and "Third Ear." Whitfield does 
not solo on the record, but his trombone adds subtle colors to "Next 
Year" and a lot of bottom to "Third Ear."
	The most arresting feature on the CD is Abbasi's acoustic 
guitar. The opener, "Série De Arco" by Brazilian composer Hermeto 
Pascoal, is a tour de force featuring a trio texture you just don't 
hear that often: single-note acoustic guitar, double bass, and drums, 
with no comping instrument. A fast eighth-note melody with intricate 
meter changes begins the tune. Once the melody is stated the trio 
breaks down to a slow, burning swing, with Abbasi improvising crisp, 
flawless single-note lines on his acoustic. Too often acoustic guitar 
is brought in for a mellow, syrupy sweet sound. Abbasi plays his with 
power and grit. The trio interplay is hot, the harmonic field wide 
open. The head-spinning melody comes back to end it. This is a 
brilliant way to begin the album. Abbasi shows finesse as a producer 
by putting it first.
	Acoustic guitar is also featured on "Modern Memory," parts 
one, two, and three. Each of these short group improvisations is 
inspired in turn by Abbasi's main jazz influences: John Coltrane, Jim 
Hall, and Keith Jarrett. The Trane tribute is a busy rubato rumbler; 
the piece for Jim Hall is dark yet calm, with ear-catching atonal 
harmonies; and the Jarrett homage is a gradual crescendo building to 
a lyrical melody that sounds like something Keith might have 
improvised himself. Everywhere it appears, Abbasi's acoustic guitar 
is uncommonly rich and round, a signature sound that he ought to 
continue developing.
	His electric playing is no less brilliant, but it strikes me 
as a shade more imitative. Abbasi is working within the contemporary 
framework of Scofield, Metheny, and Frisell, and sometimes these 
influences are too apparent. He experiments with distortion and 
digital whammy effects, some of which are quite fresh and 
interesting. But he'll need to keep exploring these sounds in order 
to make them more his own. When playing sans effects, Abbasi shows 
strong signs of developing an original sound, especially on "Next 
Year." His double-time lines on "Monk's Dream" show his dazzling 
technical facility, as do his licks at the end of "Rise Above." 
Articulation on the guitar doesn't get much cleaner than this. But 
nothing else on the record matches the sublimity of the acoustic 
guitar solos on "Série De Arco" and "Every Sunday." As much as I 
appreciate Abbasi's ability to vary his sonic and instrumental 
landscape, I hope he'll feature more of his acoustic guitar in the 
future.          ~David R. Adler


Rez Abbasi, Third Ear (CD, 62:23); Cathexis 93-0004-2, 1998
Cathexis Records
Phone: 888-635-6392
Cyberhome: www.cathexisrecords.com


        Third Ear was recorded in 1991 and 1992 and released on the 
Ozone label in 1995. It's been remastered and repackaged for Abbasi's 
current label, Cathexis. Despite its slightly dated content, the disc 
demonstrates that nearly a decade ago, Abbasi was already a player 
and composer to be reckoned with. He also knew all the right 
people-saxophonists Billy Drewes and Bob Mintzer; pianists Russ 
Lossing, Kenny Werner, and Marc Copland; bassists Scott Colley and 
Marc Johnson; drummers Ben Perowsky and Peter Erskine, and 
percussionists Jamey Haddad and Satoshi Takeishi.
	While Abbasi's current release, Modern Memory, flirts 
with avant-garde and free jazz, this one bears some of the marks of 
late 80s-early 90s fusion. Abbasi sprinkles guitar synthesizer here 
and there. Copland lays down sustained synth pillows on three tracks. 
"Resonance," the opener, is a bit heavy on the Berkleeisms and finds 
Perowsky sounding surprisingly like Dave Weckl. There's a faint whiff 
of the Metheny Group on the ballad "Memorial Daze"; sparkling solos 
by Drewes and Werner give it a much-needed edge.
	But despite some of the dated and derivative elements, an 
unfailing sense of swing prevails. Copland brims with passion on 
acoustic piano during the waltz "Mood Sketch," while the leader solos 
with particular brilliance on "Sheets of Rain," phrasing a lot like 
Metheny but employing a much brighter tone and a harder attack. His 
acoustic guitar lights up the winding melody of "Prana" and his solo 
on the closer, "A Passage for You," which strongly recalls John 
Scofield's "Still Warm" (Gramavision, 1986). Mintzer gets busy on 
soprano during the double-time portion of "Third Ear" and plays tenor 
on "Mood Sketch." Erskine spices up "For the Birds and the Bees" with 
a cool, unorthodox groove.
	The title track, "Third Ear," is a bit more "inside" than the 
version that appears on Modern Memory. Whereas the later 
version features multiple horns on the melody, here Abbasi uses a 
harmonized guitar synth patch to create an analogous effect. 
Listening to both takes back to back, one can gain insight into what 
Abbasi was going for back in 1992, and how he pulled it off in 1998.
	Re-releasing this fine record was a good call. It does Abbasi 
justice all around, showcasing not only his playing and writing, but 
also his artistic development over the course of the 90s.
~David R. Adler


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