Inescapable (2003)

After two albums exploring the boundaries of jazz via the music of Thelonious Monk (Green Chimneys) and Charles Mingus (Peggy's Blue Skylight), ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers returns to original compositions with a new band that moves forward through a swarm of genres on Earth + Sky. Employing two keyboard players, John Novello and John Beasley, as well as drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, saxophonist Katisse Buckingham, and bassist Abraham Laboriel, Summers creates a body of work that looks through jazz, rock, and folk forms and is technology based while also using organic rhythms and atmospherics. While some might see this as retrenchment, Summers, unlike so many of the superchopper guitarists out there, is a melodist whose lyricism is inescapable in virtually everything he plays…

Noëlle Spieth (Solstice, record 1990-2003): the inescapable reference, with recordings that have matured over 13 years, thanks to a courageous independent label. Under the agile fingers of Noëlle Spieth, an incessant kaleidoscope of multicolored images unfolds, as the artist approaches Couperin as a painter. Never the enigmatic titles of each piece will have borne their names as well, real sketches on the spot, affectionate or ironic, without ever malice. The key word of Noëlle Spieth is movement and contrast. Alternately capable of brushing teeming storms, of approaching movements in the luthed style with emotion and modesty, the harpsichordist moves and surprises each note.

Jean-Luc Ponty has been extremely satisfied with his international touring quintet, which not only excels in performances of his latest compositions, but also brings new life to older works. Earlier in his career, the violinist became enamored with the use of banks of synthesizers plus digital delay for special effects on his instrument, as well as the prominent presence of an electric guitarist. But this quintet, heard in a brilliant 1999 concert in Warsaw, is considerably stripped down, featuring keyboardist William Lecomte, electric bassist Guy Nsangue Akwa, drummer Thierry Arpino, and percussionist Moustapha Cisse. A perfect example is "Rhythms of Hope," first recorded for Ponty's album Mystical Adventures; Ponty's dazzling solo is followed by Akwa's intricate, yet never excessively flashy bass solo.