Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Frank Gambale: Raison D'etre

265

Frank Gambale: Raison D'etre

By

View read count
Frank Gambale: Raison D'etre
Guitarists are a funny lot; so many of them, not content with the harmonic/intervallic potentials of standard guitar tuning, experiment with a myriad of alternate tunings, sometimes with the expressed purpose of emulating the kind of chromatic chordal capabilities of the piano. As if there isn't enough to explore with the standard instrument, they feel a burning need to reinvent its harmonic capabilities, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Take fusion-burner Frank Gambale who, with his Neauveau Tuning, has reinvigorated his playing and, with Raison D'etre , his solo career.

While Gambale has always been known for monster chops, harmonic sophistication and a breadth of tone that separates him from some of his contemporaries, his recent albums, while never short of technically impressive, have become somewhat samey. Well, all that has changed—almost. From the opening finger-picked arpeggios of "Foreign Country," which sounds like Allan Holdsworth meets the Dixie Dregs, you know something different is going on. Sure, the legato lines are there, and the burning solo tone; what is new are the voicings made possible by his new tuning, the capability to play chords with a chromatic closeness. And with these new harmonic possibilities open up a fresh new approach to soloing. Gambale has, quite simply, never sounded this good.

And if it isn't enough that Gambale has a whole new direction to give his sound a freshness that distinguishes him from the plethora of fusion guitarists, there's his pick of bandmates. Gambale has been touring with drummer Billy Cobham recently, and it's clear that they understand each other. Cobham delivers some of his best powerhouse drumming in years, from mind-boggling solos to navigating unusual time signatures with the sense of ease that comes from spending time with the progenitors of irregular metered fusion, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The latter half of "Complex Emotions" sounds, in fact, as if it was lifted from the glory days of the Orchestra and given a contemporary facelift. Ric Fierabracci and Steve Billman, who share bass duties, work well with Cobham, providing rock solid support as well as strong counterpoint to some of Gambale's mind-warping elliptical melodies.

But the real revelation here is Gambale, who, with a new harmonic concept, brings new validity to that dirtiest of words, fusion. Grooves abound, as do chops, but none of it seems superfluous or excessive. Gambale seems more concerned, this time around, with solos that are more about thematic development and not just about displays of blinding technique. With his newly-created pianistic harmonic sensibility Gambale joins Allan Holdsworth in the upper echelons of guitar fusion; like Holdsworth, he will be often imitated but never copied. Fans of fusion will love Raison D'etre , and fusion naysayers would do well to return their attention to Gambale; he has truly reinvented himself, and the result is an album that is never less than captivating, intelligent, moving and impressive.

Track Listing

Part I: Foreign Country; Cachination; Bittersweet; Table For One; Debut Solo; Melodique; Two Minutes B.C.; Kaanapali; Part II: May the Fourths be With You; Monkey Wrench; Smug; Complex Emotions

Personnel

Frank Gambale

Album information

Title: Raison D'etre | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Wombat

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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

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.