Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Andy West with RAMA: Rama 1

Andy West with RAMA: Rama 1

By Glenn Astarita
December 26, 2002
View read count

Known for his longtime affiliation with the Dixie Dregs, bassist Andy West assembles an all-star prog-rock/jazz-fusion based band here. Supported by high-octane guitarist Mike Kenneally, Dregs drummer extraordinaire Rod Morgenstein and other notables, West lays down the booming bass patterns for this rather boisterous affair.

Notions such as Intelli-Metal come to mind, as the musicians meld raucous soloing endeavors with blistering rhythms and shrewdly coordinated shifts in strategy. And while the compositions are somewhat nondescript, this outing is more about burgeoning, in-your-face type riffs and compactly executed solo spots. In fact, the liners divulge that each player composed their respective parts.

At times, the music seems bonded in titanium, due to the silvery sound sculptures and bone crunching rhythms. Overall, West and associates have engineered a genial production, as they get to the point in expeditious fashion via a series of relatively complex passages amid the lead soloists’ power-packed exchanges.

Magna Carta

Track Listing

1.Mad March 2.Meetings 3.Herd Instinct 4.Bloomsday 5.Old Meat Frame 6.Memento Mori 7.Qubit 8.Government 9.Resonate

Personnel

Andy West

bass, electric

Andy West: bass, guitar, keyboards, synths

Album information

Title: Rama 1 | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Magna Carta Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

I'm Back in Therapy and It's All You...
< Previous

Mr. Dodo
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.