Joan Torres’s All Is Fused
The Beginning
(self-released)
With a kicking band of amazing jazz “cats,” bassist Joan Torres presents his All Is Fused’s The Beginning album. “Summoning†begins with single, scary plucking notes, roiling drums, then settles into a jaunty staccato plop of electric guitar, subtle bass harmonics and sweet piano attack, until the kinetic middle when things take off, featuring the killer drumming of Gerson Orjuela. “Disjunct Realities†features the bed of Joan Torres wonderful underpinning bass, some Emanuel Rivera piano in the beginning, and drummer Fernando Garcia proving the true hero here as he keeps the tune from truly exploding.
“There Was You†is floaty piano ballad territory (at least at its beginning) with Jonathan Suazo’s alto sax lilting us along for the ride, until we get the talking-like, superlative, fast finger plucking of Torres. “Disruption†slinks in medium time with Suazo sailing over Rivera’s main melody (with a later solo that’s his best playing here) and that pop-a-pop alchemy of groove from Garcia. Midway all stops for a Torres solo, not one of the more arresting moments here, I’m sorry to say.
Why can’t jazz players just keep to the song and forget all the soloing (or is that the point of jazz and I am just an uncultured slug?). “Escape†ends the album, once again featuring that light touch of piano player Emanuel Rivera in a solo opening of sweet sadness around the edges, just before Sergio González flips some riffs and the band is in (lots of splash with Garcia’s cymbals here). We keep pretty much to Rivera soloing with a highlight of González wailing at the end.
Joan Torres All Is Fused’s The Beginning is cool jazz played by some solid players.
