By: M.J. Brady
dam Nitti's third solo CD, Evidence, has him showing a continual growth as a composer. This CD has some excellent fusion material from the start to finish. If you are not aware of who Adam Nitti is, he is a phenominally gifted bassist that has adapted his style from some other well known heavy hitters on the bass. Here are some he mentions at his website: John Patitucci, Marcus Miller, Dominique di Piazza, John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Gary Willis, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Oteil Burbridge and Les Claypool. I would certainly add to this list the likes of Alain Caron and Stu Hamm, purely for their virtuosity on the bass. Adam surely is one of the exceptionally gifted players that I have heard, and he also has a knack for writing the type of songs that showcase his abilities at their utmost potential, without sounding like a bass player's CD. Not one to dwell in the predictablity of funk, or the garden varieties of bass dominated fusion cliches, Nitti takes full advantage of the impressive collective of talent he enlists to join him for Evidence. His songs are very catchy, yet have a constant complexity that goes beyond fusion, the word progressive would have to be considered a large element to his overall sound. There are a couple of songs that are straight ahead funk jams, with some great soloing by guitarist Shane Theriot, and it's back to the hard fusion again! The proficiency of Nitti's bass skills are outstanding, he flows through the many demanding styles and meter changes with great command of his instrument. When he does take a solo spot, his tone and flawless technique really impress. To conclude, this CD is very enjoyable to most anyone that likes great music of any kind, especially hard fusion, there are no loosely constructed, improv tunes, or overly played solo spots. Also I wanted to make a special mention of the recording quality of this CD, hearing this at mid volumes on my system really brought me to full attention, crisp, and punchy, with every instrument recorded evenly and at the optimum level, I could only wish all my music was this well produced and engineered.
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