Joan Torres’s All is Fused
Revolution
(Joan Torres Music)

A heavy slogging metallic hit, slipping and sliding guitar and horns smack us into “Rebellion,” before funk bass, drums, jazz countering piano and that roiling guitar gets even wilder. Man, what an opener for the Joan Torres’s All is Fused band and their latest progressive/Latin jazz release, Revolution.

At the beginning of “Moving Mountain,” it sounds as if we are sitting next to a drummer trying out various toms and percussion. It’s cool how this slowly builds with a fat distorted bass spiking in and heavy hits from the guitar. One must be patient to see where the players are going and overall it’s a sly little not-much-of-a-tune, until at the six-and-a-half-minute mark when the drums, bass and electric get to sneak, slip and slide around one another, (with a little piano thrown in there too).

Mining more commercial territory, as much as they dare, “Barriers,” offers some sweet Emanuel Rivera piano, the full weight of Jonathan Suazo’s alto sax, Julius Meléndez’s trumpet, and Elana Hedrych singing at the tail end when things get rockin’. This is one of the best tunes on Revolution for me.

“Finale,” starts with its low swirl of drums and echoey piano then runs into full tilt interplay, Suazo wailing over the guitars and the band once again proving how stellar a unit they are. Of course, this all works because of the players, from stand-out drummer Fernando García (he’s a monster really!), Joan Torres’ bass and the guitar playing of Gabriel Vicéns and Sergio González. Suazo and Emanuel Rivera round out the unit.