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| Gambale, Hamm & Smith "Show Me What You Can Do": Independent Review
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Gambale, Hamm & Smith
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Review of "Show Me What You Can Do"
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By: M.J. Brady
his CD is yet another head-spinning display of musical virtouso, like other similar upstart fusion hybrids of all-star casts: CAB, Vital Tech Tones, Planet X, etc. The highlight is on each individual players credentials as a spotlight player. The compositional content is not of special attention, but what the heck, when you can inspire these musicians to stretch out and let their riffs rip like this it's enough to make for some intriguing listening. Gambale, has marked his niche in the fusion realm as one of the guitar greats, having done work with Chick Coreas' Elektric Band, Vital Information, Jean-Luc Ponty, and a half dozen or so solo releases, gets to really shine on this CD, and he comes out of the shell he has been under on his solo CDs, as his focus was on songwriting, and not so much his guitar playing. But here the fingers are nimbly dancing legato, hyper speed leads, that are his trademark, this is what Gambale listeners are hoping to hear more from when Frank grabs the guitar, and you'll get huge doses of it. Drummer Steve Smith, has also made a name for himself in the fusion circles as a well schooled technician, he seems to have the encyclopedia of drum beats and variations committed to memory, and his skills at improvisation are impeccable, he also had stints with:Vital Information, Journey, Jean-Luc Ponty, Vital Tech Tones, and many others. Stu Hamm, is a bass playing monster, equally adept at both funk style and jazz style bass, he also has some unique skills as a classical bassist as well. His work on this CD, offers a perfect compliment to Gambale's guitar phrasings, and solos, he also plays extremely well in accompaniment to drummer Smith. He has worked with:Vai, Satriani, and also has four solo CDs to date (2001). He is right at home as a soloist as well and shares those duties with Gambale to good effect. Music like this is somewhat a throwback to the glory days of jazz/rock, and when the players are this talented sparks are sure to fly.
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M.J. Brady / ProGGnosis
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