Not many people can create a large body of work that consistently retains the same high quality. That is what makes Gilbert Engle so impressive. Most veteran musicians will have released all kinds of recordings, but much of it would consist of mediocre or terrible stuff they’d rather didn’t exist. In the case of Engle though, he remarkably puts out a high volume of quality material, which even manages to span across genres.
So with that in mind, it’s no surprise that there’s nothing shabby about his “2015 Jazz Fusion One” release. Right off the bat I was prepared to say that the 4th track was my personal favorite. While this isn’t exactly music designed for teenagers, its energetic and laser beam like synth backing would put it right up there with the best video game boss battle music. It’s totally “danceable” as well and would work in an upscale club atmosphere or hotel bar. Upon continued listening though I realized track is the one that really blows me away. While all of the tracks are predominantly carried by the synth and the horn, the 9th track just has a certain articulate clarity about it. It’s just the most cohesive in terms of the different musical elements working well together, and the melody is the most detailed and precise on the album.
That’s what I like about a lot of Engle’s songs. They have crossover appeal and would fit with a wide variety of environments and audiences, even ones that normally wouldn’t be that receptive to jazz. This is another top tier release from Engle. He shows dedication to his craft.
For more info:
http://newjazz.net/artEngine/musicFrameSet.php?musicIndex=41/
