Ligro, Dictionary 3

Indonesian guitarist Agam Hamza is something special as is his avant jazz-rock trio Ligro. They show us growth and fire on their third album, the second in international release, Dictionary 3 (MoonJune 072).

August 30, 2012 seems like ages ago, but that was when I reviewed their Dictionary 2 on these pages. They have continued to evolve, so that Dictionary 3 is further along, more and more accomplished and original.

With Agam once again is Adi Darmawan on electric bass and Gusti Hendy on drums. For the first tune they are joined by Indonesian keymaster Ade Irawan.

I remember a Rolling Stone review in my younger years (1970) of Soft Machine's Third, referring to them as "the thinking man's rock group." It got my attention and I bought the album, happily. In a way Ligro is the "thinking person's avant rock group." They too spend considerable effort to come up with their own sound, both compositional and improvisational. They too give the listener something to think about.

Agam plays a very electric guitar with close attention to an elevated electric sound and a colorful, thoughtful choice of notes. The third album makes that ever more clear and puts him in an increasingly original light. The bass playing of Adi and the drumming of Gusti complement what Agam does with driving, open, non-cliche musical sense.

Put the three together and you have something excellent to hear, outside the mainstream in intelligent ways, exploratory and adventuresome, yet with compositional heft. I love their avant rock adaptation of Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time," an excellent choice and sounding just right for some heavy sonics. But the whole album has that something about it that makes for absorbing repeated listening.

If you respond to something strongly out yet very driving in an advanced rock realm, this is for you. Agam is a key guitarist out there and the trio a key group. Their best yet. Hear it by all means.

Jake Hertzog, Throwback

Jake Hertzog plays an infectious, brash kind of jazz-rock on his album Throwback (Zoho 201314). It's jazz-rock that takes on electric and acoustic components naturally, with style. The ensemble is excellent, with Jake on electric guitar, Randy Brecker on trumpet and flugel, Harvie S on bass and Victor Jones on drums and electric drums.

The material is original Hertzogian and has rock-jazz melodiousness and changes or riff chord rock things. Both modes work well for high-voltage burning and some quieter balladisms.

Randy sounds excellent as always but seems to rise to this music--not surprising because he came up and thrived in this sort of zone. Harvie S and Victor Jones kick it like crazy.

And Jake Hertzog comes across as a very versatile player who can chord it with real grace or solofire in ways that burn but originally, not like somebody else really.

It's a lot of good music to be heard. And Jake has a vision that comes across. The fire of rock, the finesse of jazz. Good going.

Rafiq Bhatia, Strata (EP), Yes it Will (LP/CD)

I wasn't familiar with American guitarist Rafiq Bhatia until somebody kindly hipped me to his premiere recordings, Strata (EP) (Rest Assured) and Yes it Will (LP/CD) (Rest Assured).

I am so glad to be hearing his music. His playing, like his composing/arranging, is exhilaratingly singular. Everything comes out of his very evolved, very declamatory finger-picking style. Rafiq will finger pick a complicated pattern where another guitarist-composer would supply a couple of notes or chords. So it's an extremely ornate style but also one which has the rhythmic push of the in-time picking patterns.

Rafiq covers a jazz-rock of his own making. There's a little hip-hop in there and a hip band, outness and in-ness combined in interesting ways and very memorable compositions.

This is music with a real flair, on every level. Get the EP and the LP!!

Bruce Kaphan Quartet

Something a little different today: a CD from pedal steel guitarist Bruce Kaphan and his quartet. The album is self-titled (Wiggling Air Records 40060).

Bruce was initially captivated with the San Francisco proto-jamband style he heard growing up, has done countless sessions, and returns for a second album effort that shows him off nicely in a rock-jazz fuzoid jamband-ish setting. The quartet has good players but it's especially Bruce's time to shine, and he does so with a mix of originals, plus interesting versions of "Birdland", the Weather Report number, and "Jessica", the Allman Brothers perennial.

Here's a good player showing the versatility and beauty of the pedal steel. Hey, sounds good.