Joan Torres's All Is Fused: Revolution

Amidst the chaos that is the year 2020, Joan Torres's All Is Fused has found the time to release an alt take of the closer from their 2019 album, Revolution (Self Produced). The new version of "Finale" is a collaboration with bass virtuoso Bubby Lewis. Of the collaboration, Torres says: "I wanted someone who was a bit of a kindred spirit in this musical journey but with a considerably different style. The stars then lined up somehow because Bubby Lewis....was back in his home from touring and available to do it."

The image of aligning stars is a good one for this track. The cascading arpeggios, sweeping filters on the synths and reverb-soaked sounds give a sense of wide open space. This contrasts nicely with the tune's bright tempo and the driving playing from drummer Fernando García. Beginning with ethereal pads and light fills from keys as the bass ostinato sneaks in, the track quickly builds in energy to set up for the big event: dueling bass solos.

The difference in styles Torres eludes to in his description of the track works in everyone's favor here. Not only do Torres and Lewis have very different distinct melodic approaches, they also go for very different bass tones, allowing for a sense of conversation. Lewis opts for lots of effects, including octave-up and synth sounds, while Torres opts for an essentially clean tone with the strings clearly audible. While both play beautiful lyrical lines, Torres makes expert use of space while Lewis superimposes exciting reharmonizations over the chord changes.

The track as a whole has a very satisfying arc and is worth a listen for the bass solos alone, but chances are fans of rock-influenced playing will want to listen more than once. Bass players are sure to enjoy this track, as are any fans of Victor Wooten's projects or of high intensity players like Hiromi.

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