Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Favicchia: Dharma

139

John Favicchia: Dharma

By

Sign in to view read count
John Favicchia: Dharma
John Favicchia's new 2001 CD release, Dharma, is truly a work of art. Fusion in every sense of the word, Dharma is a melting pot, a potpourri of musical influences from around the world. The CD features some of the best drumming I've heard in a long time. Favicchia has the perfect blend of chops and musicality; never over playing, yet always leaving you wanting more. Dharma is full of poly-rhythmic interplay, mixed meter, rhythmic displacement, slammin' back-beats, dynamic cymbal work, melodic drum solos, and all the energy & technique you'd expect from a world-class drummer. Dharma is full of radio-worthy songs that could fit into the commercial radio format, although thankfully Favicchia doesn't seek to tailor his CD to that genre. Favicchia has obviously invested a great deal of his soul in this music. Every cut on this CD has it's own persona ... yet the mood and cohesiveness of the album is never lost. It's hard to single out a few tracks as my favorites as I love them all. "Restless Heart" is a commercial pop/jazz tune, as is "Coincidence" which has a interesting development/bridge section where John stretches out and solos while the band vamps. "Pyramid" opens with a creative drum solo, nicely setting up the 12/8 (afro-cuban / jazz) feel that this song is built on. "Te estremeces" and "Pa'delante" has some burnin' salsa drum & percussion feels coming from Favicchia and Riveria ... not to mention the brass sections. "Dharma" (a drum solo composition) means "a purpose in life". Listening to John's drumming, it's obvious why he chose to make this the title cut. "Pez" starts out with an intense electronica opening, soon melding into a soothing guitar melody, building back to the opening theme. "Animation" is an esoteric sounding groove tune, with soaring guitar melodies over a funky drum bed. Living up to it's title, "World Time II" takes the listener on a journey of sounds from around the planet. Thick layers of drums, percussion and chant will make this composition one that you'll want to listen back to over and over again ... just to catch all the wonderful subtleties. The heartfelt guitar/sax unison melodies, interplay and solos on "The Gauntlet" really make this a wonderful closing tune ... but wait till you hear Favicchia's burnin' drum solo in the middle section of the tune! John simply tears it up baby! The second of Favicchia's self-produced albums, Dharma is a 'must have' for any fusion lovers CD library and is well worth the price of admission.

Track Listing

1.COINCIDENCE 2.PYRAMID 3.ANTES TE ESTREMECES 4.TE ESTREMECES 5.RESTLESS HEART 6.Dharma 7.PEZ 8.PA'DELANTE 9.ANIMATION 10.WORLD TIME II 11.THE GAUNTLET

Personnel

Steve Khan-Chieli Minucci-Harvie Swartz-Dean Brown-David Mann-Philip Hamilton- Jeff Haynes and many others.

Album information

Title: Dharma | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Fav Music

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.