Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Polito: Crossing The Line

121

John Polito: Crossing The Line

By

View read count
John Polito: Crossing The Line
With a focus on melody, pianist John Polito allows his compositions to ebb and flow with the tide. The forces of Nature play rather conservatively into the picture. Much of the session remains content to float drum backbeats and piano cascades in a smooth jazz backdrop.

Mother Nature provided the earliest forms of music. Early man must surely have appreciated some of that. But don't we take for granted those elements that return day after day? Here, Polito is giving us the opportunity to stop and reflect on the everyday music around us. A piano/cello duet portrays fields of wildflowers, gently massaged by the slow wind. Violin joins them for more impressionism. This time it's "In Motion," with mechanical scenes of the world's industrial players at work. Rollers, presses, gears, rotary fans and the constant humdrum of an assembly line would offer the same rhythms. Polito simply adds a gorgeous violin melody to all of that. His synthesizer seems capable of making any sound. Much of the album, however, rides too far with a moaning piano melody alongside its crying cello companion. Like the meandering waters of a mountain creek, Polito's music flows true without altering its course. The music is predictable.

"Spanish Rain" makes for a refreshing change of pace by dancing to a loping Caribbean rhythm in 5/4. The syncopation of "Aurora Alegre" makes it the high point of the album. Trumpet and trombone are added to classical guitar mastery to fold in both mariachi and flamenco elements. In contrast to the rest of Polito's album, this one contains excitement. Polito, guitarist Andy Abad and trumpeter Paul Witt capture the essence of Latin jazz with high spirits. One track, however, does not alter the mood of John Polito's debut album: smooth and predictable impressionism.

Track Listing

Euphoria; Spanish Rain; Time and Space; Aurora Alegre; Walk in the Clouds; Union; In Motion; Heaven Knows; Safe Passage; Home (Total Time: 60:00)

Personnel

John Polito: Keyboards; Andy Abad: Guitar; Charlie: Bisharat: Violin; Doug Lunn: Bass; Martin Florez: Drums; Ramiro Belgardt: Cello; Paul Witt, Paul Salvo: Trumpet; Joe Nazzaretta: Saxophones; David Ryan: Trombone.

Album information

Title: Crossing the Line | Year Released: 2001

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Hold On
Mark Winkler
The Hat with the Grin and the Chuckle
Ben Thomas Tango Project
Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.