Volker Kriegel

In my opinion, Volker Kriegel ranks right up with the most adaptive, forward-thinking Jazz musicians in Europe. He, along with Terje Rypdal, Klaus Doldinger, Mike Ratledge, Jon Hiseman, Ian Carr, Jósef Skrzek, Pekka Pohjola, Dave Stewart, Jukka Tolonen, Chris Hinze, Michal Urbaniak, Corrado Rustici, Demetrio Stratos, and Jan Garbarek (among others), should be credited with Europe's ability to continually rise to the level of quality and innovative Jazz-Rock Fusion that American bands, promoters, and record labels were producing.

DOLDINGER Goes On (1967)

Recorded March 17th and 18th, 1967, at Rhenus-Studio, Godorf/Köln, and then released in May of 1967. 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Klaus Doldinger / saxophones [tenor & soprano], composer

- Cees See / drums

- Peter Trunk / double bass

With:

- Volker Kriegel / guitars (A1, A3, B1 to B4)
- Helmut Kandlberger / bass guitar (A1, B3, B4), double bass (A2, A3, B1, B2)

- Ingfried Hoffmann / organ (A1, A3, B2 to B4), piano (A2, A4, B1)

- Fats Sadi / percussion (A1 to A3, B1 to B4)

A1. "Shakin' The Blues" (4:52) definitely a blues-based tune bordering on R&B with Ingfried Hoggmann's organ, Volker Kriegel's bouncy electric rhythm guitar, Helmut Kandlberger's electric bass, and Fats Sadi's hand percussion (congas) added on to Peter Trunk's double bass, Cees See's jazz drumming, and Klaus' tenor sax. (8.875/10)

A2. "Quartenwalzer" (4:51) a song that has a smooth Herbie Hancock/Miles Davis' Second Quintet feel to it incorporates Helmut Kandlberger into the mix as a second double bass player beside Peter Trunk and beneath Klaus' excellent soprano sax lead. Ingfried is playing piano on this one while the combination of Fats Sadi's percussion play (bongos & congas) and Cees See's drumming definitely leads one more to the thinking of rock or, really, Jazz-Rock Fusion. Almost more Miles-like than Miles! Great J-R F song! (9.5/10)

A3. "That Bluesy Sound" (5:32) back to a blues foundation, moving into some early-Miles-like Cool Jazz  for Klaus' organ and double-double bass-backed sonorous tenor sax play. One of the double bassists (most likely band-member Peter Trunk) gets the album's first non-Klaus solo--and it's a long one: a full minute--before the lead gets handed off to Ingfried Hoffmann's organ--who is suddenly accompanied by a much-more-prominent and creative electric guitar. The band unites in the fifth minute for a sax-led blues melody played over a standard, unembellished blues chord progression before they break it down for a final stanza of the main melody line from the opening. Nice Jazz. (8.875/10)

A4. "Tears" (4:47) the album's heart-felt ballad with brushed drums, one bass, piano, and no percussion add-ons to accompany Klaus' soul-ful lower-register soprano sax playing. Nice jazz of the Vince Guaraldi sort with some excellent sax play from the bandleader. (9/10)

B1. "Five For You" (5:47) Django-like acoustic guitar strumming (of two chords) opens this one before Latin percussion, two basses, piano, jazz drums, and breathy tenor sax join in. Despite the intended Spanish feel, the blues piano and chords make this more old Jazz than perhaps Klaus had hoped for. The alternating two-chord sequences make this a little too Ray Charles like than any Jazz-Rock Fusion fan would be looking for. (8.667/10)

B2. "Run, Baby, Run" (4:19) syncopated play of hand drums and percussion open this one before the rest of the band jumps in at 0:15 with a galloping-fast-paced motif that sounds like "Sweet Georgia Brown" with an organ and guitar orientation. Ingfried takes the first solo as Volker and Fats accentuate and embellish Peter, Cees, and Helmut's zealous rhythm track. Then Klaus gets his solo time in the second minute but he doesn't hold the reigns long, giving it back to Ingfried and Volker almost to the end. Cool Jazz tune with a little Fusion palette. (9.125/10)

B3. "Watch It" (4:47) two major themes alternate on this one: the first more rock and pop oriented, the second a strong swing, while Klaus' tenor sax and Helmut's awesome organ play trade solo time and the rest do some fine work keeping up with the rhythm shifts while also throwing in some of their own pizzazz--including Volker's first true solo in the fourth minute. Awesome stuff! Feels like a cover of a Rock n Roll song by a talented and diversifying jazz ensemble. (9.375/10)

B4. "Just A Little Bit Of Soul" (4:12) another song that sounds like a cover of a Ray Charles-like Blues song but gets that broad-spectrum treatment of modern instruments to bring it a little more into the present (and future). (8.875/10)

Total time: 39:08

The genius of Klaus Doldinger really comes shining through with this album as all of these familiar-sounding songs are Klaus Doldinger original compositions (!) and the fusionary feel of most of the songs (as well as the band line-up and their respective specialities) show the forward-thinking/outside-the-box direction that he's steering his band toward. Also, (as if this hasn't been enough), Klaus' skill and creativity on his own instrument (the saxophones) is quite astonishing--both as a melodist but also as a virtuoso who makes it all sound so very easy and effortless.

90.36 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a wonderful collection of songs that fully display the forward-thinking proto-Fusionary mind and ideas of one of Jazz-Rock Fusion's earliest and most intrepid pioneers.

VOLKER KREIGEL With a Little Help from My Friends (1968)

One of those Renaissance men that could have found success in many (any?) careers, this album was Volker's debut as a band leader. After stints with Ingfreid Hoffmann and Klaus Doldinger in the mid-60s, for With a Little Help from My Friends we find the creative guitarist working with some of the same musicians that he worked with on Klaus Doldinger's Goes On album while also working with drummer Peter Baumeister for the first time. Tracks A1 to A4 were recorded in 1968 in Köln while Tracks B1 to B3 were recorded in 1968 in Frankfurt. The album was then released by Liberty Records, also sometime in 1968. ‎

A1. "With A Little Help From My Friends" (3:13) though quite faithful to the Beatles' original vocal melody lines, Volker is so accurate and precise as to almost seem reverential (i.e., not the creative Jazz treatment I was expecting). (8.875/10)

A2. "Blues For Instance" (5:10) definitely built/based on American Blues construct and melodies, Volker, bassist Peter Trunk, and drummer Cees See give ample life to this original composition. Not my favorite type of music, but the trio really bring their best to make it both interesting and impressive. (8.75/10)

A3. "Norwegian Wood" (2:20) now this is more of what I was expecting from Volker's first tackle of a Lennon & McCartney tune: creative interpretation, juxtaposition, variation, and improvisation galore; he's using the original as a jumping off point, not as a template to follow respectfully close. The injections of Jazz twists and turns are rampant and replete--and nary a sitar or sitar-imitation necessary! (9/10)

A4. "Traffic Jam" (3:59) the fourth and final song from the Köln studio recording sessions finds Volker stretching out with his band on this original composition that is founded in more of a folk Jazz tradition similar to the works of Django Rheinhard but Volker finds his usual ways of making it his own: expanding Django-like phrasing into American Jazz traditions pioneered by Charlie Christian as well as sneaking in a some flourishes of psychedelic rock into the last minute of the song. This, to my mind, is the first song that really begins to show Volker's wildly creative genius in tandem with his virtuosic dexterity. I really like drummer Cees See's instinctual sensibilities and control when he fully joins in around the halfway mark. (8.875/10)

B1. "Morandi" (3:29) another Kriegel original that finds Volker exploring the sounds and styles of Spanish classical guitaring of Rodrigo, Segovia, Niño Ricardo, and Manolo Sanlúcar. Most people think of Volker as an electric guitarist but I'm here to tell you that he was an amazing acoustic guitarist as well. As I suggested in this review's introductory paragraph, I consider Volker quite the eclectic musician: a Zelig who could and would transgress fearlessly into any style or genre of sound or music with an ease that I credit to intuition as much as to intention--and the dude was totally self-taught! (9.125/10)

B2. "Na Na Imboro" (8:42) a composition from Claudio Szenkar, the Vibraphonist sitting in on all of the songs on Side Two (those songs recorded in Frankfurt). The main melody and structure have quite a similar feel to the song "Mas Que Nada" (made famous internationally in 1966 by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66). While Peter Baumeister flails away with great vim and vigor, bassist Günter Lenz keeps up as Claudio and Volker trade vibrant and dynamic solos, both challenging the other to up their game, even urging the other on from beneath the soloist's spotlight while the other is soloing! Very cool and energetic Jazz! Virtuosi, both! (18.625/20)

B3. "Interpunctuation" (4:44) though Claudio and Volker lay down the chords, this song presents itself as more of a vehicle to show off the drumming talents of Peter Baumeister. After the first minute, though, Peter and Günter settle into something structured while Volker nad Claudio take turns soloing, Volker riffing with such smooth fluidity as to surprise and astonish, over and over again. Claudio uses his genius to show his chord play during his solo (toward the end). I kind of wish Peter's drums were mixed a little more quietly into the final mix: they can be a little overbearing. (9.125/10)

Total time 31:37

Though for whatever reason I find myself resistant to listening to Volker Kriegel material, I always come away super impressed by this musician's abilities. He attacks the guitar with such intuition and virtuosity and yet he somehow makes it sound so easy! There are other fluid guitarists out there but I can think of no other who makes his fluid movements and clear note play seem as effortless as Volker--even here, at age 25, in this, his first record as a bandleader. And then there's the factor of his compositional abilities: these four original compositions of his are so good, so complete, and so confident, that it makes the listener swear that they must be covers of old classic songs by much more mature and practiced composers!

90.47 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of proto-Jazz-Rock Fusion: here fusing jazz interpretations of a variety of musics (Pop, Spanish, American Blues, and Brasilian) with eclectic meanderings from his encyclopedic mind. Brilliant! Volker is a force! And I need to hear more of Claudio Szenkar's work!

DAVE PIKE SET Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise (1969)

Detroit's own Dave Pike lived Europe from 1968 into 1973, recording with some of Northwestern Europe's finest musicians. The material that makes up Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise was recorded on January 21, 1969 at MPS-Tonstudio Villingen in Black Forest, Germany and then released by MPS Records some time during the same year, probably as early as March or April since the band was starting a concert tour in the Spring-Summer.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Hans Rettenbacher / bass
- Peter Baumeister / drums
- Volker Kriegel / guitar, sitar
- Dave Pike / Vibraphone, tambourine

A1. "I'm On My Way" (4:37) a song that sounds and feels as if it is a direct attempt to copy if not being played by Motown's Funk Brothers (the studio's house musicians)--at least until the guitar solo when the rhythm guitar track comes forward (a little too much). But when Dave's in the lead with his Vibraphone it definitely feels like a highly-skilled Motown cover band. (9/10)

A2. "Regards From Freddie Horowitz" (4:40) Wow! Going from Motown covers to Latin/Spanish folk/Flamenco music! Once the band congeals into the song's full sound it reveals itself as more Jazz-Pop and even a little on the rebellious side with its odd time signature. Was Dave okay with his voice being heard beneath his Vibes playing? (He's very pitchy!) Volker does some pretty amazing acoustic guitar work to pull of the Spanish sound and style as well as he does. Impressive! And what's even more impressive is that the sound could be the same even today, in the 21st Century (which is not the case with many of the other songs on this album that sound dated by their technologically restricted sound capabilities). (9.25/10)

A3. "Somewhat, Somewhere, Somehow" (4:40) some very pretty romantic lounge jazz with long vibrating chords from Dave's vibes, brushed drums, spacious bass riffs, and fine, melodic jazz electric guitar. (9.25/10)

A4. "Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise" (5:38) setting up another, slightly more uptempo version of the previous song to start out this one as Volker again goes into Jazz-solo mode, but then after the first minute and a half the drummer and bass player shift into a higher gear--which Volker responds to by going Rock Guitar for the one minute duration of the continuation of his solo. Then the band suddenly slows things down to the original temp, signaling Volker to stop and Dave to step into the spotlight. Then the band does the same thing it did with Volker by speeding things up about 20 seconds into Dave's solo for the next minute until everybody drops out so that bassist Peter Baumeister has a clear slate with which to exhibit his own solo. The band returns in the sixth minute to finish off the song in the form it started. Kind of cool! (9/10)

B1. "Mother People" (4:21) opening like an electrified version of a hit from the mid-Sixties--one that still uses 1960s instrumental sounds (almost Beat-ish). Around the one-minute mark the band congeals into a straightforward psychedelic rock race across the universe as Volker goes into weird guitar sounds and Dave plays his pop chord progressions with a lot of jazzy interpretation thrown in for good measure. Volker's wah-wah-ed guitar solos mightily in the fourth minute, shredding like a wild rock 'n' roll psychedelicist. I find myself more impressed by the musicianship, creative (though dated) sound manipulations, and solid play from Peter and Hans propelling the group through space and time at high velocity than I am with the melodic sense or overall stylistic presentation. (8.875/10)

B2. "Mathar" (3:36) a upbeat funk-lite/soul vehicle for some sitar soloing by Volker Kriegel. He's okay but my brain and nervous system has never really felt comfortable with Western music and Western musicians flowing through Indian instruments: it's rarely done well. (8.667/10)

B3. "Vian-De" (3:21) gentle Vibraphone play over very thin and basic, almost ethereal, support from the rest of the quartet. (9.125/10)

B4. "Teaming Up" (3:45) an interesting Jazz exploration of freedom and looseness that turns before the end of the first minute into more of a run than a walk. Up and down it goes, even changing direction and style at the midway point before turning into a running vehicle for supporting a high-speed solo of Volker's. But then it decomposes into chaos and psychedelia until the finale brings everyone back together for a chorded exit. Very interesting--worthy of several listens to try to get a grasp on what's going on (and maybe even why). (8.875/10)

B5. "Walkin' Down The Highway In A Red Raw Egg" (3:28) highlighted by its odd tempo and cranky Volker Kriegel guitar chord-play (almost sounding like the funky clavinets that would soon start taking over for [or doubling up with] the guitar in order to create this sound. There is a bit of a "Take Five/Living in the Past" feel to this which makes me guess that it might be using a 5/4 time signature). Solid. (9/10) 

Total Time 36:06

The music of Side Two feels much more experimental (and, unfortunately, dated) whereas the beautiful soundscapes, compositions, and performances of the songs on Side One feel timeless and surprisingly mature.

90.05 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a bold and daring foray into very early market of Jazz-Rock Fusion, complete with experimental sound exploration, complex time signatures, and virtuosic musicianship. 

DAVE PIKE SET Infra-Red (1970)

Acoustic-founded Jazz-Rock Fusion covers original song compositions from within his own band: two and a quarter from Dave himself, three and a quarter from guitarist Volker Kriegel and two and a quarter from bassist J.A. Rettenbacher and a quarter credit to drummer Peter Baumeister. Their sound and feel cover a gambit of proggy, folkie, and jazz-lite. Infra-Red was recorded on June 15-18, 1970, at MPS Tonstudio in Villingen, Germany, and then released later in 1970 on MPS Records.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Dave Pike / Vibraphone, percussion, bongos, vocals

- J.A. Rettenbacher / bass, electric bass [E-bass], maracas, percussion, vocals

- Peter Baumeister / drums, percussion, vocals

- Volker Kriegel / guitar, sitar [amplified & unamplified], percussion, vocals

A1. "Suspicious Child" (3:57) Volker Kriegel's gently picked folk guitar music with J.A. Rettenbacher's double bass, Dave's Vibraphone, and Peter Baumeister's tom-dominated drumming replete with a second track of everybody picking up a percussion instrument to fill the soundscape with a hippy-like full-stage vibe. Volker gets the first solo--a true electric jazz guitar solo--before the verse and chorus of this Volker composition gives rise to Dave's vibes for the second solo. J.A.'s bass is pretty dynamic, several times making me notice it above the sounds of the others. Cool tune. Definitely some visionary fusion stuff! (9/10)

A2. "Attack Of The Green Misers" (7:10) starting out with a lot of Vbraphone play, this Dave Pike composition gradually builds and shifts from gear to gear until we're at top speed for a pretty dynamic display of drumming, old style (untreated sound), almost Rock 'n' Roll (near Keith Moon), as J.A. adds his often discordant yet-contrasting electric bass play while Volker solos in as near a psychedelic frenzy as you'll ever hear. In the sixth minute everybody but Peter's drums clears out so that J.A. can solo on his wah-wah-effected bass (using quite an unusual sound selection) which takes us to a weird vocal ending that sounds like a bunch of men greeting each other in some Middle Eastern/Arabic language. Again, the fusionary elements of this song are unmistakable and undeniable. Too bad it isn't a little more melodic--and the excellent drumming isn't paired with some more fitting bass play. (13.25/15)

A3. "But Anyway" (5:08) Volker's second composition on the album unleashes another Rock/R&B-slanted tune (one that feels as if it came from some Stax or Motown artist, not a German/European group). It's organized, it's demanding, it's mathematical, it's delivered with tight precision and not a lot of fat or room for improvisation--kind of like a foot-stompin' bluegrass song! Commendable though not my favorite.(8.875/10)

A4. "Rabbi Mogen's Hideout" (3:53) despite the expectations set forth by the song's title, this Dave Pike composition starts out feeling like something from the Caribbean--almost Calypso in its palette and feel. The machine gun play on the skins mixed with a surfer-dude's bass play and definitely-island Vibraphone flavor is eventually joined by a bluegrass-like guitar sounding like Monroe playing rapid-fire mandolin legato over and within the mix. The engineering on this one is quite amazing as everyone feels so equally imbedded and woven. Unusual but great tune. (9/10)

B1. "Raga Jeeva Swara" (2:57) psychedelic R&B Rock feel to this one--like something from California--as Volker takes up the sitar, J.A. and Peter hold fast to a very tight, very hypnotic Rock beat while Dave and Volker take turns soloing over the top on electric guitar, sitar, and Vibes. There's even an aweseome little "Tomorrow Never Knows" feel to this J.A. Rettenbacher composition. Amazing how close these guys can get to the American hippy sound! (9.25/10)

B2. "Send Me The Yellow Guys" (7:15) taking the first 90 seconds to fly around free-form, drummer Peter Baumeister has an absolute crash party as J.A. and Volker flesh out their electrified, slightly-effected instruments as if they are tuning and warming up for a psychedelic freak out. By the 1:30 mark the band is ready to congeal behind a structure that composer J.A. Rettenbacher has, believe it or not, provided in spades: tight, revolving rhythm motif over which Volker and Dave perform an excellent weave-like dance in which the soloists feel as if they never stop, the sound and light engineers just keep switching the volume and spotlight. Then, surprise, surprise, at 3:40 J.A. and Peter totally switch it up by moving to a very R&B/Rock pattern over which Dave lights it up before Volker's weirdly-wah-wah-ed guitar joins in, playing only in the lower registers. 5:55 sees yet another radical change in motif as J.A. and Peter turn to a light and breezy two-chord vamp to serve as support to Dave's repeating melody and some backward sound engineering effects applied to both Dave's Vibes track and Volker's electric guitar. Cool suite composition! With some interesting sound engineering. (13.625/15)

B3. "Soul Eggs" (2:40) another rapid-fire R&B-based tune (this one from Volker) that displays all four musicians working hard to keep a very tight mathematical weave from leaving the tracks. Well met! (9/10)

B4. "Infra Red" (5:50) more exploration of the crazy new world of psychedelic sound creation, all four members of the band take credit for the "composition" of this loose and rather crazy free-form song--one that, this time, goes on to fill the entirety of the "song." The instrumental play of each of the four is fun (and interesting) to follow but I guess I appreciate structure (and definitely melody) more than skill and coupled with loose imagination. (8.75/10)

Total time: 38:50

There is no doubt that this is an example of early fully-blown Jazz-Rock Fusion--this one almost coming more from the Rock and R&B perspective than Jazz (despite the fact that these musicians are all proven Jazz players). 

89.72 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of highly-creative and commendably-brave First Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. A great example of the early expressions of J-R F coming from Europe. 

DON "SUGAR CANE" HARRIS Keep on Driving (1970)

With everybody on board employing electric or amplified sound what we have here is some true Jazz-Rock Fusion (of the Herbie Hancock Mwandishi school of influence). The album's material (of all original Don Harris compositions) was recorded on November 17 and 18, 1970, at MPS Tonstudio in Villingen, Germany, and then released soon thereafter (probably in early 1971).

WARNING: This is really a Don "Sugar Cane" Harris album: Volker Kriegel is just a collaborating guest; all song compositions are credited solely to Don Harris.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Don 'Sugar Cane' Harris / electric violin, acoustic violin (on 1, 2)
- Volker Kriegel / guitar
- John Taylor / electric piano
- Tony Oxley / drums, amplified percussion (on 2, 7)

1. "Keep On Driving" (4:05) music solidly rooted in Blues and Blues-Rock traditions on which Volker and Sugar Cane take turns presenting the "Proud Mary"-like main melody and their variations and improvisational interpretations thereof. Already one can sense how dextrously-talented Volker is. John Taylor must be playing an early version of an electric piano as it sounds quite odd (and primitive). The rhythmatists are playing something quite basic and simplistic, following the main melody line quite closely, which feels rather amateurish. (8.75/10)

2. "Blues On The Moon" (6:53) unstructured bass play with virtually solo violin improvising some melody over the top while John, Volker, and Tony Oxley play with experimental sound-making from behind the scenes. Toward the fourth minute the bass, drums, and electric piano start to gel into some kind of loose three-chord vamp as Sugar Cane continues exploring his own bluesy melody line. The song begins to deconstruct and bottom out slowly almost from the five-minute mark on with no one else really getting much solo time, everybody just kind of loosely jamming to that three-chord vamp. (13.125/15)

3. "Which Way Is The Bathroom?" (4:02) electric violin begins soloing Jean-Luc Ponty-like from the opening note over two-chord electric piano, bass, and touch-drive drums, switching the rhythm track a bit in the second minute as Sugar Cane peaks. Volker enters in the second half of the second minute, truly ripping a few jaw-dropping slurring shred- lines before giving up the spotlight first to John Taylor, then Tony Oxley, before Sugar Cane returns in the fourth minute to take back the lead, rhythm section slowing down and spacing things out a bit as Sugar Cane really flies. Then the song is slowly faded out. (8.875/10)

4. "Desiree" (8:40) a slower paced, cool spacious jazz motif that sounds inspired by the old Miles Kind of Blue album while the piano has gone electric, the bass, too, and the melodic violin is also electrified. I really like the way Tony Oxley's drums are recorded: nice full toms and crisp, clear cymbals. The only other soloist on the song is John Taylor on his electric piano; Volker is absent from this one. A nice, laid-back tune that offers nice solos but nothing jaw- dropping or ground-breaking. (17.667/20)

5. "Almost Broke" (5:58) electric piano play from John Taylor sounds like a Vibraphone, the amazing bass play is Sugar Cane! Which means multiple tracks were used in recording this one. Volker gets some nice solo time but really has little contributions otherwise: it's mostly Don, John, and drummer Tom Oxley performing as the rhythm trio with Volker and Sugar Cane taking some turns with electric guitar and electric violin, respectively. (9/10)

6. "Coitus Interruptus" (4:58) Mississippi Swamp Blues with Volker playing rhythm with Sugar Cane's bass while Cane's wah-wah-treated electric violin presents the bluesy main melody from the opening note (sounding a bit like a dobro!) Cool sound! Volker takes over the lead around 1:50 with some raunchy distortion and overdrive adding a stinky stank to his solo (and the music). John Taylor is next, his also-stinky distorted electric piano is mixed in an odd left-back position (opposite Volker). A little flashiness from Tony precedes Sugar Cane's re-entry with his squawky violin. Kind of a cool sound despite its very rudimentary blues construction. (8.875/10)

7. "Remember The Past" (10:08) again John Taylor's jazzy Herbie Hancock-like electric piano play coupled with Don's slow-struttin' bass and Tony's excellent spacious drum play give Sugar Cane the chance to really spill his guts with his treated electric and acoustic violins. Volker doesn't really make his presence known until the fourth minute: once Cane has finished his first extended solo. Volker's solo is pretty standard jazz guitar until he starts shred-bending his guitar strings as if he were Sonny Sharrock, Chris Spedding, Pete Townsend, or Roye Albrighton. Then John gets a turn, occupying the seventh minute before some guitar scratching signals time for a bass solo (during which Volker continues to play with the feedback effects on his electric guitar). The band comes back to the opening theme for the final minute as Sugar Cane closes things up with his plaintive melody (while Volker and/or Tony continue to play with electronically-induced sound effects). Kind of cool experimental stuff within some laid-back down-home front porch smooth jazz. (17.75/20)

Total Time 44:44

I am definitely surprised by how little Volker Kriegel's contributions are considered: he's mostly there to provide solos only--often very brief ones at that. In contrast, I'm also surprised by the how much creative input drummer Tony Oxley and electric pianist John Taylor are given. And, lastly, who knew that Don Harris was such a bass player (and composer)?!

88.20 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a solid contribution of early experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion.

VOLKER KRIEGEL Spectrum (1971)

Despite a solo release in 1968, 27-year old guitarist Volker Kriegel had felt the need to prove himself still--to continue his growth, as it were--using the crossover band, The Dave Pike Set to do so. He had even experimented with the creation of an album with his name on the headline (with jazz veteran and virtuoso violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris), now it was time to take his considerable ideas and expanded composition and guitar skills to the next level: as a band leader of his own band. Two of the members of this album's lineup of musicians would stay with Volker for the next few albums, keyboardist John Taylor having helped launched the guitarist's solo career on the Sugarcane Harris collaboration--even staying into the Power Fusion Spectrum band era (1974) of his productivity.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Volker Kriegel / guiatr, sitar
- John Taylor / electric piano
- Peter Trunk / bass, electric bass, cello
- Cees See / percussion
- Peter Baumeister / drums, percussion

 1. "Zoom" (7:00) congas, sitar, bass, drum kit, bluesy flourishes from an electric piano, and multiple guitar tracks all enter, one at a time, merging into a Herbie Hancock-like synthesis with some great lead guitar, sitar, and electric piano soloing along with some very fine sound recording (with great definition given to each and every instrument in the mix). A very enjoyable J-R Fusion jam song. (13.75/15)

2. "So Long, For Now" (3:55) definitely an offering that sounds like (and may have inspired) Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Blue Collar": great jazz guitar with perfect accompaniment from Peter Trunk's double bass play, John Taylor's electric piano. Peter Baumeister's drumming sounds a little stiff, like rudimentary jazz drumming 101 run through for the first time. (And it's mixed a little too loudly in the right side of center, sometimes distracting me from hearing/enjoying the other instruments--all of whom are much better, much more interesting than his.) Volker's play, crossing several stylistic lines within the course of the song with ease, even exuding confidence, is wonderful. (8.875/10)

3. "More About D" (9:14) a song that opens full of latencies and potentialities--much like a Joni Mitchell or Eberhard Weber song! Once the full band links up and launches into the meat of the song, there is some Return to Forever-like chords and Larry Coryell-like wildness as Peter Trunk, Cees See, and Peter Baumeister hold down a fairly-constantly moving rhythm track over which Volker solos in his jazz guitar with some of the freedom and reckless abandon that Larry, Sonny Sharrock, or Chris Spedding were doing about the same time. In the fifth minute everybody lets loose-- lets go of time and structure for a bit of joyful chaos--but then they come back to support John Taylor's electric piano solo much in the same syncopated herky-jerky forward-moving way they did Volker in the first verse. This is a fairly good keyboard solo as far as keyboard solos go, but it is highlighted by the percussion--and-psychedelic guitar supported bass solo that follows. Peter Trunk impresses! The closing is satisfying for its psychedelic folk extension beyond the standard jazz close. Great tune! Very creative and adventurous. (18.75/20)

4. "Suspicious Child, Growing Up" (4:00) this one sounds like something straight out of The Haight, 1966 or 1967. Multiple tracks used by Volker for his acoustic and electric guitars while minimal electric piano, percussion, bass, and drums support him. I love how well Volker plays off of his own alternate tracks: making it seem and feel as if he's dueting/duelling with someone else sitting next to him in the same studio in Austin, Texas. A very cool, enjoyable song--and I'm not even a fan of this type of music! (9/10)

5. "Instant Judgement" (3:45) Volker's distorted guitars are played over this Rockabilly-like tune with considerable aggression and psychedelic effect. Not necessarily a great or memorable song but certainly representative of the day-- where sound experimentation was all part of the game and almost de rigueur. How is that drummer Peter Baumeister can impress on this and feel so weak on "So Long, For Now"? (8.75/10)

6. "Ach Kina" (5:14) gently performed solo jazz electric guitar opens this before Volker launches into the real melody-- one that is quite emotional and melancholy (but played very effectively to convey these "sad" emotions). Support comes from a jazz trio of bass, brushed drums, and second guitar playing rhythm chords. Very nice! And at times achingly heart-wrenching (especially in the fourth minute when Cees See's congas join in and Volker starts to take turns soloing between both of his two guitars). (9.25/10)

7. "Strings Revisited" (7:20) this one sounds like a thinned out, scaled down song from Miles Davis' Bitches Brew: dreamy, floating Fender Rhodes, percussion front and center, independent and adventurous double bass play, and, of course, electric guitar. As a matter of fact, also like Miles' revolutionary record, John Taylor's Fender Rhodes play takes on quite the same sound and mystique as those of Chick, Joe, and Herbie (though, of the three, perhaps more the latter). Volker's jazz guitar stylings, however, sound far more akin to those of Geroge Benson than Johnny Mac. Drummer Peter Baumeister is, unfortunately, nowhere in the same league as the Bitches Brew drummers. (13.375/15)

Total Time: 40:28

90.83 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of early and experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion--perhaps even beyond the early ventures of Bitches Brew participants Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, and Chick Corea! (But not John McLaughlin.)

VOLER KRIEGEL Inside: Missing Link (1972)

Five years after his debut as a bandleader and principle composer, the German guitar genius releases his third studio album. All tracks are Volker Kriegel compositions except where noted.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Volker Kriegel / electric & acoustic guitars, Octave guitar
- Albert Mangelsdorff / trombone
- Alan Skidmore / soprano & tenor saxophones
- Heinz Sauer / tenor saxophone
- John Taylor / electric piano
- Eberhardt Weber / bass
- Cees See / percussion, voice, flutes, effects
- John Marshall / drums

1. "Slums on Wheels" (13:24) John Marshall is a beast on the drums from the get go on this J-RF rocker. Guitarist and band leader Volker Kriegel uses a DANNY KORTCHMAR "It's Too Late, Baby" style acoustic guitar solo in the Alan Skidmore's soprano sax play in the second movement is so dynamic and exciting! And let's not forget the extraordinary drum playing of Nucleus' own John Marshall! Eberhard Weber's bass play is fairly standard until the seventh minute when the band clears out and he's given solo time--then you know this is the one and only Eberhard Weber--two minutes he's given before the band slowly re-matriculates. The section that follows the bass solo is a bit odd--feeling meandering and out of place, and then Heinz Sauer's saxophone solo feels like it goes nowhere and never gels with the rest of the band, but at 12:15 there's a bit of a restart that helps the band to get back on track for the final minute. A truly remarkable multi-part song (or suite)! (28/30)

2. "The "E" Again" (6:36) tediously repetitious rhythm track over which everybody seems to get a turn to solo (except the bass and drummer). The loose, laid-back feeling coming from all of the song's performers is kind of cool, but then, after six minutes it proves to be overdone. (8.70/10)

3. "Zanzibar" (10:22) penned by Edu Lobo, this is a very catchy, melodic song that feels as if it's led by the big band-like horns. Great jazz funk bass play (in a style that I've never heard before from Eberhard) leads in over John Marshall's solid drumming over which Volker, then, takes the first extended solo on his jazz guitar. It's very GEROGE BENSON and Wes MONTGOMERY-like. From the 3:00 mark two tenor saxophones trade off the next solos. Again, these guys are very engaging and compelling (which is exceedingly rare for me: I am not nor have I ever been a fan of the saxophone). The grooving JAMES BROWN-like high-energy R&B jazz-rock fusion is so infectious! Amazing performances top to bottom! (19/20)

4. "Missing Link" (12:03) some wild and crazy sounds being emitted here from all the band members but I ultimately reject this song for its overly-repeated foundation and 1960s-sounding guitar solo. Great, creative performances on top, but way too simplistic and repetitive--even in the suite's different motifs. (21.75/25)

5. "Für Hector" (5:45) another hard-drivin' song based on a fairly rudimentary JAMES BROWN-like rhythm track (and "Shaft"-like introductory hi-hat play) that somehow inspires stellar performances from all soloists as well as the rhythm-makers. It's like they're pretending to be the JBs only at 45rpm speed instead of 33! Has there ever been a rhythm section as tight as these guys? Eberhard Weber and John Marshall are extraordinary! (9.25/10)

6. "Remis" (4:26) a more Latin-based song that feels as if it came out of the Latin/Caribbean-crazed 1960s: 1960s hippie game show music! But so tightly performed! Very smooth, fluid jazz guitar play over acoustic rhythm section (and electric piano). (9/10)

7. "Tarang" (10:00) a composition credited to Eberhard Weber, it opens up sounding like something from the Far East (not quite Indian, perhaps SouthEast Asian). The sound palette is very cool; not what one would expect on an album that presented those first six very Western songs. It's not until the second half of the third minute that we begin to hear any instruments familiar to the Western ear: double bass, drums, acoustic guitar, and electric piano. The sixth and seventh minutes present a long nearly-alone Eberhard Weber solo with clay hand drums before Fender Rhodes and drums start to reinforce both the pace and the harmonic structure. Interesting and definitely engaging despite a kind of lack of melody and harmony. I like it! (17.75/20)

8. "Lastic Plemon" (5:21) another rampant-flowing R&B-based song in the James Brown tradition that flies along with everyone playing their 1960s parts. Well-orchestrated impeccably-performed song that never really grabs me. (8.875/10)

9. "Janellas Abertas" (4:09) a short little four-part Caetano Veloso composition with double bass and symphonic percussion beneath Volker's extraordinary Spanish-style nylon-string acoustic guitar play. John Taylor also gets some time in the spotlight with his electric piano in the third movement, but everything returns to Volker's lap for the final beautiful section. (8.875/10)

10. "Plonk Whenever" (4:06) another song that sends the musicians off to the races from the very start, arranged in some very complex "old jazz" forms and streams, sounding a lot like pre- or proto-Fusion Herbie, Wayne, Miles, Johnny Mac, and Tony. (8.875/10)

11. "Definitely Suspicious" (5:55) acoustic guitar and gang come up with a rock/pop like construct with a bit of Latin and psych flavor over which Volker's simple rock/psychedelic electric and acoustic guitars take turns soloing for the first three minutes. The styles seem to move fairly cleanly between rock, psych-rock, and blues-rock. Fender Rhodes solo from John Taylor in the fourth minute before we return to Eberhard excels in a Danny Thompson kind of way while this song makes it clear that John Marshall is really meant to be a Jazz-Rock Fusion guitarist (not pop or jazz). Catchy enough melodies that I could see this getting some radio air time (back in the day). (9/10)

12. "Finale" (0:10) Volker's cartoonish finish.

Total Time: 81:77

A much more jazz- and jazz-rock representative. The question is: How much of this album's superlatives are due to the guitarist, composer, and band leader and how much to the amazing all-star lineup he's enlisted in support? I mean, these collaborators keep performing at such a high level throughout the album (despite some weaker song foundations) that it's hard not to credit them, but could it also be the band leader's brilliant instruction and inspiring example motivating these amazing performances? Also, I must mention and commend the great sound the engineers and producers got out of this album. Also, I'm very much appreciative for this opportunity of seeing/hearing bass virtuoso Eberhard Weber in a far different light than anything I'd ever heard from him.

90.95 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of eclectic jazz, R&B, and Jazz-Rock Fusion pieces from a band of multiple virtuosi.

VOLKER KRIEGEL Lift! (1973)

Recorded in March of 1973 (5th through 10th) and then released in June by MPS (advertised as "Most Perfect Sound" but actually an acronym for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald" [due to its location in Villingen], Germany's premier producer of jazz music--comparable to the USA's Blue Note label). Despite band leader and chief composer Volker Kriegel's name atop the marquee, the album turns out to be a collaborative effort between an international lineup of superstars, with representatives from the UK, Poland, and Germany. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Volker Kriegel / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Stan Sulzman / soprano saxophone, flute
- Zbigniew Seifert / electric violin
- John Taylor / electric piano
- Eberhardt Weber / bass, cello, electric bass, bass guitar
- Cees See / percussion
- John Marshall / drums

1. "Lift!" (6:54) a mellow song to open the album leaves me curious about Volker's intentions here in 1973. There are some elements of this countrified song that feel inspired by some of the other softer Jazz-Rock Fusion masterpieces already floating around in the Jazz-Rock Fusion world--most specifically those of Chris Hinze and Michal Urbaniak. Nice melody expressed by Zbigniew Seifert at the end of the second minute before giving way to Volker's acoustic guitar solo. There is also a spirit of American jam band in this song--like something from the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers, even the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, but mostly Michal Urbaniak (minus Ula's vocalese). The band speeds up the tempo for the closing as the song is faded out as if through a building's air ventilation pipe system. (13.25/15)

2. "Three Or Two In One" (6:07) bearing some melodic similarities to some of the smoother songs of the early J-R F masterpieces: like Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Michal Urbaniak, Caravan, and Hatfield and The North, the stripped down and laid back conga foundation and Eberhard Weber bass play give this a quite accessible feel despite its harmonic and chordal intricacies and jazzy electric guitar and electric piano performances. John Taylor's electric piano performance is akin to something Herbie or Chick might accomplish at this stage of their development (and sound palette explorations) and Zbigniew and Stan Seifert's play also definitely put them into the jazz department despite the easy listening friendliness of this music. (8.875/10)

3. "Forty Colours" (3:26) the first of three compositions attributed to Eberhard Weber (who plays a beautiful bowed cello as well as the electric bass on this), it opens with Volker's acoustic guitar and Zbigniew Siefert performing a plaintive melody together over John Taylor's soothing electric piano and John Marshall's delicate cymbal work. Volker is quite impressive with his speed runs on the acoustic as I hear a lot of similarities to songs by Michal Urbaniak and Jean-Luc Ponty. (9/10)

4. "A Piece With A Chord From A Yorkshire Terrier" (6:05) a cookin' if slightly mellow instrumental palette definitely qualifies as ramped up post bop with Eberhard's jazz virtuosic double bass play, John Marshall's solid drumming and John Taylor's space-filling electric piano work. Volker is really bringing it with those speedy blues runs in the first half with Stan Sulzman's sax and Zbigniew's violin providing main melody check ins every so often, and then Eberhard's amazing bass solo in the second half. What a great Jazz-Rock Fusion piece! (9/10)

5. "Electric Blue" (8:55) Eberhard's second song contribution makes me wonder, Which came first: this album and song or Italian band AREA's Arbeit Macht Frei? (The latter didn't come out until September--which means the Volker & Company's influences had to come from another funky source--perhaps Michal Urbaniak.) The best, funkiest, hardest rocking, most Power Jazz-Rock Fusion song on the album. Everybody is giving their absolute all to this one--especially Eberhard, John, and Stan. Great jazz musicianship! (19/20)

6. "The Lame Donkey" (2:40) the final composition credited to Volker's bassist, this is pretty much a little comfort piece involving bass guitar, gentle piano chords, and acoustic guitar playing beneath a repeating melody coming from what sounds like a synthesizer (which is uncredited but probably coming from John Taylor's right hand). (It turns out it's Eberhard playing an ocarina through some kind of reverb effect.) Volker's acoustic guitar lead work is rather sublime: so smooth and fluid. (9.125/10)

7. "Between The Seasons" (4:38) back to the gentle side of song construction with a palette of instrumental sounds that could easily spawn a BOB JAMES or Smooth Jazz album. Nice, enjoyable, if surprisingly easy and rather simplistic. (8.875/10)

8. "Blue Titmouse" (3:55) exploiting a couple of very 1960s pop rhythm tracks (think The Mamas & The Papas and The Carpenters), here everybody gets to lay it out like an instrumental practice for a Motown or soft R&B hit, especially Stan, Zbigniew, Eberhard, and Volker. Volker's Motown-like rhythm guitar is impressive for fitting this type of song in a "Shaft" and Junior Walker & The All-Stars kind of way. Eberhard can play some great Soul/R&B bass, Volker some cool, melodic and unobtrusive lead guitar. If John Marshall's drums were recorded better I might also enjoy his input. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 42:40

It turns out that this collection of songs is far more collaborative than some of Volker's more dynamic guitar-centric albums (thus the addition of the "and Friends" in the title--as noted on the album's own liner notes) which makes for some interesting, more spread out and "full" music palettes and outcomes.

90.53 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; an excellent if slightly mellow minor masterpiece of gorgeous Jazz-Rock Fusion collaborative work. I love the way the spotlight is shared and how the quality and accessibility of the overall song is the top priority of each song outcome.

VOLKER KRIEGEL & SPECTRUM Mild Maniac (1974)

Apparently Jazz-Rock Fusion guitarist Volker Kriegel was paying close attention to the sudden rise of Power Fusion "super groups" popping up around the Jazz-Rock Fusion world (including Tony Williams' Lifetime, Jack DeJohnette's Complex, Chris Hinze's Combination, Klaus Doldinger's Passport, Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea's Return To Forever, Joe Zawinul's Weather Report, Michal Urbaniak's Fusion, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Clive Stevens' Atmospheres, Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, and, soon to come, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Larry Young's Fuel, Tom Scott's L.A. Express, Jack DeJohnette's Direction(s), John Abercrombie's Gateway, and Stomu Yamash'ta's Go) for he decided to tag the "Spectrum" label onto this album project to connote and honor the foursome of exceptional collaborators he found to help him achieve the high standards of musicianship necessary to pull off his increasingly complex and demanding compositions. This collection of Volker Kriegel original compositions was recorded and mixed at Studio Waldorf in Frankfurt, Deutschland, between February 18 and 23, 1974, and then released by MPS Records sometime in 1974. Knowing MPS' recording-to-release turn-around patterns from the era (as well as Volker Kriegel's status as a recognized and established recording artist), I think it safe to estimate that Mild Maniac would likely have been released in the Spring of 1974.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Volker Kriegel / guitars [electric & acoustic], bass guitar (A1)
- Eberhard Weber / double bass, electric bass, bass guitar, cello
- Joe Nay / drums
- Rainer Brüninghaus / keyboards
- Peter Giger / percussion

A1. "Mindwill" (6:45) some super-funky bass is joined/doubled by a second deep-funky bass, stinky funk drumming and low volume guitar, keys, and percussion as the song opens and the motif establishes itself. Effected guitar and super-funky electric piano move forward as a three-note vocal-like melody line seems to loop (which turns out to come from Eberhard's cello!), forming the blood to the rhythm section's backbone as Rainer Brüninghaus' keys and Volker's guitar (and, later, Eberhard's bass & cello) flit and fly around the sonosphere on this amazingly-well engineered song. So cool! (14.25/15)

A2. "Prinz Eisenherz" (4:37) this one opens up with some ECM-like pristine sound rendering of double bass, acoustic guitar, multiple keyboards, and subtle percussion noises putting together a gentle yet full and subtly-nuanced motif. This interestingly-nuanced Mahavishnu-like whole group play continues throughout the song, start to finish, without the tempo ever clicking into gear (and never admitting Joe Nay's drums), just kind of floating on the top of the stream the whole way. Interesting! Amazing sonic clarity! It feels as if I can pick up every sound of each musician's hand movements. (8.875/10)   

A3. "Schnellhörspiel" (5:26) Billy Cobham-like drums and Jan Hammer-like keyboard work open this high speed song as Eberhard and Volker add barks, yelps, and yowls from their own instruments as the music congeals into a Herbie Headhunter/Mahavishnu 2.0 train ride through the forests of Southern Germany. The technically-demanding high-speed multiple-instrument phrases are so like those pioneered by Chick Corea's Return To Forever's Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and The Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire (both 1973 releases) that it's amazing to hear them so soon coming from an European band. (Material like this and other elements of this album also remind me greatly of Todd Rundgren's own response to the Power Fusion phenomenon: his October release of the Todd Rundgren's Utopia album). Very impressive musicianship and sound production. (9.25/10)

A4. "Mild Maniac" (5:08) a little smoother, a little more laid back, just as erudite and virtuosic despite the use of acoustic guitars, bowed cello and bass, gentle electric piano, and easier-on-the-brain melodies. These musicians are just so darn impressive! (9/10) 

B1. "The Visit" (7:26) loose though timed spaces in which all five musicians are freed to explore and express melodic lines and rhythms are punctuated by intermittent chord-and-drum punches as Volker and Rainer eventually "strike up a bargain" of flow and chord-commitment to which Joe, Peter, and Eberhard ascribe, resulting in the evolution in the third minute to a quirky little hook motif that sounds like a funky theme song to a television show (as was a fairly common phenomenon in 1974). By the arrival of the fourth minute that which sounded so quaint and almost trite (and yet expresses a Herbie Hancock-like level of sophistication and demand placed upon the musicians on hand) has evolved even further into something more akin to super funky Jan Hammer/George Duke song. Eberhard Weber and Joe Nay are simply phenomenal, as is Volker: shredding mercilessly away with his saw-like electric guitar tone until 6:50 when everything stops, leaving a steel-stringed acoustic guitar to finish things off before someone can be heard stomping across the floorboards on his exit from the recording room. Great stuff! (13.5/15)

B2. "D-Dödel" (12:12) dirty electric piano playing solo for the first two minutes of this before the rest of the band joins in with a BOB JAMES-like jazz-lite rendition of THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND's 1973 hit song, "Can't You See" until the end of the fifth minute when everything devolves into a spacey, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" intro-like jazz atmosphere for Eberhard to have one of his "underwater" solos (this could be the first one I've heard of the sort that would become his trademark style and sound in a year or two). Eberhard eventually gathers steam: working his way into what becomes a very impressive display of full-fledged bass virtuosity--which the rest of the band responds to by joining in, each in turn exhibiting their own wildly-imaginative improvisations into the free jazz mix until the clock spring seems to reach its end, everything slowing down like the end of an Ever-Redi battery's charge to some children's toy. The end! Cool and eminently impressive! What a ride! Like a rollercoaster moving inside a slightly-disturbing amusement park funhouse. (22.625/25)

Total time: 41:34

91.18 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of eclectic but time-sensitive Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion that at times rivals some of the era's elite Power Fusion band outputs.

VOLKER KRIEGEL Topical Harvest (1976)

Germany's pre-eminent Jazz-Fusion guitar player is back with an album that shows his openness and adaptability to all of the recent technologic trends in music. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Volker Kriegel / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute
- Rainer Brüninghaus / keyboards, electric piano, organ
- Hans Peter Stroer / bass, Mellotron, flute
- Ray Mantilla / congas, percussion
- Peter Giger / percussion
- Joe Nay / drums
- Albert Mangelsdorff / trombone
- Peter Coura / acoustic guitar

1. "Hypnotic Pignose" (4:27) my how rapidly-advancing technologies have affected the sounds of musical instruments. Nearly none of the instruments used here sound anything like those we heard in Volker's earlier albums--even just three years before! The bass, the way the drums and percussion sound, the keys, of course, and the guitars--all of it are so much different, all of it allowing an all-pervasive underlying "funk" sound to dominate. The music is funky as much due to sound as to changes in playing styles (though those too have been affected). (9.125/10)

2. "Circus Gambet" (4:41) a clean, electric sound that finds Volker's music approaching the sound of both Yacht Rock and Smooth Jazz. The musicianship is still jazz-strong, still highly-skilled and nuanced, but the overall feel and sound is so much more "easy" on the ears and brain. And, again: there is funk here without even seeming to try! The synthesizer solo in the third minute definitely gives away the effect of American Black Funk Soul/R&B bands like Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang, and Smooth Jazz proponent Bob James. At the same time Volker's guitar virtuosity is not something to be overlooked: he has definitely taken the technologies to heart while figuring out how to use them to his advantage in his guitar expression. (9.125/10)

3. "Hallo Albert" (3:36) a gentle, comforting sound palette in which Volker and trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff trade gentle, sensitive solos (Volker's in both electric and acoustic). Almost Prog Folk feeling. (9/10)

4. "Remember Gereba" (3:08) a nice African percussion jam opens this one for the first 1:10 before fading away to be replaced by an acoustic-guitar-accompanied trombone-led version of a children's lullaby (or famous limerick). The percussion jam is re-faded in for the last minute to finish the song. Weird. (8.875/10)

5. "Sister Matic" (3:49) sassy funk-lite with a Sesame-Street feeling element over which Volker tries to shred with all of the latest effects of psychedelic guitarists (e.g. those used by Ernie Isley, Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappp, and Neal Schon) It works, kind of--though it does feel a little trite and contrived. (8.875/10)

6. "Oriente" (6:06) serious piano and electric piano working with bass, guitar, and Jay Nay's reflective drums. An interesting and not-altogether definable or consistent construct, there are several odd motifs knitted together within and over which Volker lashes out with a variety of guitar sounds, styles, and volumes. Keyboard maestro Rainer Brüninghaus shows his skills and range here while the rhythm corps do an admirable job of following the script of the odd composition. Easily the best, most refreshing Jazz-Rock Fusion tune on the album--though it is also the oddest/most out-of-place. There are echoes of FOCUS/JAN AKKERMAN in this one. (9.25/10)

7. "Bahia Next Yera" (5:36) the percussion/rhythm track that this song opens with sounds like something from a PAT METHENY album--something with a bit of a World Music influence and flavor to it. Rich electric piano and dual-guitar-and-keyboard harmonized melody lines flow over the top in the coolest, tightest three-and-four-part weave. It's kind of smooth jazz and yet some of the most sophisticated, classically-informed world-music/blues-rock fusion you'll likely hear. Again, Pat Metheny group renderings keep popping into my head the further we go into this as well as Weather Report and John Abercrombie, Larry Carlton, and Ralph Towner stuff as well.  (9.25/10)

8. "Tribut" (1:02) banjo, calliope, and both Moog and wah-wahed bass lines woven with shakers and broom to make a jazzy C&W tune. Clever and cute! (4.5/5)

9. "Let's Say Windmill" (4:35) Shaft-like percussion weave with bass and electric piano chord play sets the stage for Volker's concise electric and keyboard--until 1:20 when a very sudden wonky bass sound jumps in and turns the mutha out: into a very funky tune over which Volker becomes the rhythm guitarist and Rainer becomes the lead instrumentalist while Jay Nay carries a Disco-lite drum beat to go with the funky bass of Hans Peter Stroer and Rainer's keyboard. Motif changes continue to move between fine country-folk fare and stinky funk until the former finishes things off. Interesting! And quite enjoyable! A fourth one in a row that will need multiple listens to make sense of. (9.125/10)

10. "Saturnalia" (2:41) multiple guitar tracks, some acoustic, some electric, one, in the center, doing its best early Pat Metheny ("It's for You"--which won't come out for another five years) impression. (Does this indicate that Pat must have heard some Volker Kriegel in his European travels and collaborations? I think it only makes sense.) By the end both electric and acoustic guitars have taken their turns in the lead position. Beautiful Ralph Towner/ New Chatauqua-like fare. (4.625/5)

Total Time: 39:41

All tracks by Kriegel except 4 by Gereba, Kriegel, 6 by Gilberto Gil, arranged by Kriegel, Hans Stroer, 8 by Kriegel, Hans Stroer and 10 by Hans Stroer

90.83 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a definite minor masterpiece of up-to-date Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. Volker Kriegel is definitely one artist who keeps up and keeps pushing the envelope with his virtuosic guitar skills and song-construction abilities.