Rez Abbasi and Junction, Beyond the Vibration

I've never so thoroughly moved-dislocated in my adult history, never certainly while trying to do a five-times weekly set of music blogs, never under the duress of the old bum's rush. So though I've managed to land in a safety zone and all is more or less well, there have been some albums that have been late getting to review stage and I apologize for that.

The Rez Abbasi and Junction album Behind the Vibration (Cuneiform Rune 424) is especially vexing to me that I am getting to it so late, because it is so good. Rez is an electric guitarist at the very top of the heap for innovative stylistics and mastery. He is a fusion king if you will. And his band Junction has the right feel to get Rez flying.

Ben Stivers on keys, B-3 and Rhodes has all the talent and facility to make an ideal front line partner to Rez--to respond to torrent with torrent and not just lots of notes but smart notes. So for that matter does Mark Shim on tenor and midi-wind controller. Kenny Grohowski has that creative, busy beboppish rock inventiveness that makes the straight-eighth mode swing like mad and sets up the situation for the great playing the quartet comes through with.

This is contemporary fusion that does not stint on content--Rez and company give it a huge push and instantiate (yeah, look it up...they do) a music that draws on the past ... but then they make it all new again.

Outstanding music, outstanding guitarist, outstanding band. Get this one, no kidding.