Spiral Sky

The David Joel Quartet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 5
• Label: Turning Point Productions
• ASIN: B000QRHUTG
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #649,520 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Dance Of Life

2. Eastern Truth

3. Western Lies

4. As It May End

5. The Star Spangled Gospel

6. Spiral Sky

7. Little Bear Prelude

8. Little Bear

9. Other Side Of The Sun

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is much harder to recognize the inherent merit of any work when one has a bias against its form. Despite Spiral Sky s fusion stance, however, guitarist David Joel has created a musical opus of extreme beauty. Each piece is like a well-crafted short story, with the ability to invoke a whole gamut of thoughts and emotions. The compositions, all by the Joel, are unique yet complementary to each other. In a time when most of what passes as fusion comes dangerously close to instrumental pop and elevator music, Joel s compositions are rich with substance without sacrificing form, and are extremely well-shaped. The richly mellifluous tracks are embellished by soaring improvised lines that go far away from the basic theme without losing sight of the melody. The four musicians demonstrate a close rapport, forming a cohesive unit during the ensemble work, and unique individualities when soloing. The music is what one expects from a jazz-rock fusion recording, with a guitar and keyboard frontline supported by bass and drums, electric sounds and virtuoso solos. There are elements of gospel, funk and world music judiciously sprinkled in to spice things up a bit, with some references to the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The highlights of this extremely enjoyable and rewarding listen are the complementary tracks Eastern Truth and Western Lies. For those who enjoy fusion, Joel and his quartet have recorded a near masterpiece of the genre which only barely falls short of rivaling classics including the Mahavishnu Orchestra s The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia, 1972) and Weather Report s Heavy Weather (Columbia, 1977). Reviewed by: Hyayr Attarian --allaboutjazz.com

Product Description

Spiral Sky by the David Joel Quartet is a colorful auditory tapestry revealing the diverse amalgam of what happens when jazz meets electric elements, fusion, rock, bossa nova, gospel, and other disparate influences. This Philadelphia jazz group fires up the disc with creative and energetic original compositions and improvisations woven into their own unique style.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars It's A Jazz Thing CD Review, February 5, 2008

By 

Mark Robinson (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spiral Sky (Audio CD)

Spiral Sky by The David Joel Quartet takes us through the whole spectrum of the modern jazz genre. Straight off the bat "The Dance of Life" is perhaps my favorite track on the cd. Light and breezy this could be the perfect track of the long New Zealand summer we have coming up. Rich flowing cords from Joel's guitar and very tasty Rhodes piano from John Stenger. Tracks two and three are the longest on the cd release clocking in at 10:54 & 11:21 respectively and both tracks have a wonderful jazz-fusion feel with "Western Lies" in particular containing some very strong drumming from Dan Monaghan. The only other member of the Quartet I haven't mentioned so far is bassist Paul Gehman. Gehman stays in the background for much of the cd but delivers a strong platform at all times especially on "Eastern Truth" where he lays down a rich bassline. "As It May End" is a very spacious ballad with David on acoustic guitar and some dreamy Rhodes from Stenger. "The Star Spangled Gospel" is, I guess, Joel's homage to Jimi Hendricks - a blues infused piece with wonderful organ accompaniment from Stenger. Overall one comes away with the feeling of a very well rounded jazz-fusion band. Joel at times sounds like Metheny, Hendricks and others that he may have been influenced by but he has his own voice that shines through. David Joel is a new name to me and one that in would like to hear from again in the future.