TRIBAL TECH
Thick (Zebra)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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While most of the first generation fusion artists ran out of creative steam and moved along a couple of decades ago, there continue to be a few hearty and adventurous souls that keep the fusion flame afire. No one does it better than Tribal Tech, a quartet consisting of guitarist Scott Henderson, bassist Gary Willis, keyboardist Scott Kinsey and drummer Kirk Covington.

No small part of their ability to maintain a fresh sound in a genre that's too often stale is their ability to maintain a level of perspective about the whole thing. They're not afraid to have fun with the music, and if anything killed the first wave of fusion it was the tendency for artists to take it all just a bit too seriously. The fusion in question, after all, was of jazz, arguably a very serious form of music, and rock, unquestionably a form of pop entertainment. Good fusion, then, should take some of the serious edge off the jazz elements and provide a bit of popular entertainment.

Tribal Tech does just that. The members have all the chops they need to play as much "serious" jazz as they want, but they also have a spirit that inspires them to get noisy and nasty and flat out entertaining. That spirit shows up all over this nine track adventure, and the result may well be the fusion album of the year.

Track List:

Sheik Of Encino * Party At Kinsey's * Jalapeno * Clinic Troll * Thick * You May Remember Me * Slick * Somewhat Later * What Has He Had?

© 1999 - Shaun Dale