By: MJ Brady
his is the second cd I have had the pleasure of reviewing by Al Garcia, and trust
me when I say, that Al Garcia needs to be heard by todays hardcore fusion fans, Al
is a very proficient musician both as a bassist and guitarist, yet most notable of
his talents are his innate imaginative compositions, which demand technical
excellence, which are delivered not only by Al Garcia, but a supporting cast of more
than capable musicians. Perhaps Al needs to find a clever band name to get his music
more exposed, none the less, what I have been enjoying about this cd, is that the
music provides a depth of complexity that reaches far beyond most fusion that is
being heaped out these days. Crafting instrumental music that challenges the
listener is not the common approach for many musicians in this genre, few are taking
the time not only to refine their skills as musicians, but to painstakenly create
elaborate themes and progressions to which they execute those same skills is the
sign of a serious technician.
Al Garcia's music on Alternate Realities treads the fine line of jazz/rock fusion
and progressive instrumental, meaning, the songs are not merely mundane vehicles for
stunt soloing in each instrument, but highly refined songs with direction and
sophistication, the music certainly would appeal greatly to those of you that have
bands like Bruford, Happy the Man, Helmet Of Gnats, Metheny, Tribal Tech, Weather
Report, Caldera, DiMeola, and other in your collections of favorites. Al himself
cites the likes of Holdsworth, Eric Johnson, Jeff Berlin, Bela Bartok, Brand X, ELP,
Jaco, Yes, etc as major influences to his love and passion for music, and with his
feet standing in both the fusion and progressive worlds, it is no mistake that his
music perfectly reflects his deepest regard for these challenging musical cultures.
At the point of this review, my feelings are that Al Garcia needs to be heard by the
fusion circles that are existing today, this cd rates as some of the most well
arranged instrumental music I have had the pleasure of musing over in recent years,
and as for his playing? It's rare when I cannot tell a multi-tasking artist's first
instrument, and in Al's case, it's really blurry to me whether he prefers the bass
over the guitar, not that it matters, as his mastery of each is ever present through
each song here, he displays not only true artistic expression on each instrument,
but also quite a diverse arsenal of genre's are exhibited as well.
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