Joel Newton Situation
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Review of "One"
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ould the Joel Newton Situation be the first great jazz fusion band of the
21st century? In a word, yeah. This New York City-based quartet recalls the
glory days of guitar-based fusion, a time when John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu
Orchestra wowed jazz and rock audiences, Jeff Beck was releasing
masterpieces of
the genre like "Wired" and "Blow by Blow" and Steve Morse and the Dixie
Dregs
were beginning to make a name for themselves as the leading light in a new
generation of harmonically intelligent bombast.
What makes Newton and his band different, though, is the fact that they
employ the golden age of jazz fusion -- pronounced "the '70s," in case you
were
wondering -- as a starting point. Sure, you'll hear plenty of guitar-based
action at Newton's shows, but you'll also hear a sort of "electro-techno"
zeitgeist only slightly buried in the subtext, as its debut release, "One,"
makes plain.
Free-thinking and forward-looking, the JNS is guided by a passionate spirit
of improvisation, which has informed the best instrumental music throughout
history.
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Buffalo News
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