Search - Don Grusin :: Zephyr

Incredibly inspired, maybe the best GRP album of all

S. A. Felton | southern OR USA | 02/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just went to GRP's web site for the first time. Ho hum,

a lot about "smooth jazz," which to me is mostly uninspired,

monotonous, and unchallenging, i.e., don't rock the boat.



"Zephyr" is quite another matter, much more the kind of

cheerful, uplifting, inspiring music I always liked when I got an

album on the GRP label. Yet "Zephyr" is way beyond that in my opinion.

It is dynamic, moving, and passionate. Sometimes an artist will realize

that what he/she is creating deserves a deeper explanation, and will put

some helpful comments in the liner notes for those who might want

to analyse the music, but unfortunately the liner notes for this CD are

quite sparse when it comes to additional comments.



Zephyr means a "light wind," but the album is anything but

that for the most part. The first/title song sets the tone for much of

the album: it's jazz, it rocks, and it also has a Latin influence, and

the alto sax solo in the middle really cooks! The one song that

does remind one of a "light wind" is the 4th track, "Anoranza,"

which apparently is a Spanish word that means nostalgia, and

indeed one can feel some nostalgia while listening. The next track,

"Hardwood," is my favorite (reminds me of my first trip to the N. OR

coast, Labor Day, 1996). Only 3 musicians perform, yet Grusin uses

piano and synthesizers to create an intense, emotional, mystical,

fantastic sound. The next track, "StoryTeller," is intense, but

unlike most of the tracks has some real singing, though it's actually

"scat" singing. Whatever, the song works quite well!



The other songs on the album show great variety within the established

molds. There is one piano solo track, more Latin sounds, more jazz,

more rock. It's always pleasant, uplifting, and passionate, whatever

forms are used.



"Zephyr" features some great musicians in addition to Don

Grusin, one I remember from Weather Report (percussion) and

another from his days playing violin on J. McGlaughlin's Mahavishnu

Orchestra. The musicians I am not familiar with perform just

as great as the more known ones."