jazzrockworld.com
Date: May 2007
[5 star RATING]
The music on the new Steve Smith and Vital Information “Vitalization” Cd is best described by the title itself. The latest outing by the venerable Vital Information institution established in 1983, serves notice that Fusion/Electric Jazz is still the most creative and potent force in the evolution of the Jazz genre. While Jazz traditionalists dismiss anything remotely associated with the “F” word, the rest of the world rightfully embraces the notion that plugging in and turning it up is good medicine for the soul.
Vitalization is the first Vital Information Cd on the Hudson Music label. I would have to say the change is a good one. The Hudson Music production and the sound quality of the music, rate near the top of the Cd format standard capabilities. This is certainly one recording that I would love to hear in the HD format (SACD, DVD-Audio).
This recording is also the debut of guitarist Vinny Valentino with Vital Information. Again, the change seems to be a good one. Vinny brings new life to the sound of the band. Playing a hollow body Yamaha AEX 1500 Electric Guitar through an Axon Ax 100 guitar synthesizer, Vinny demonstrates a variety of great sounds. While Vinny sites George Benson as an influence, there is a lot more to his sound and to my ears, he sounds like a combination of Grant Green and John McLaughlin – not bad!
These changes are just the beginning of the many things to appreciate on this recording. The addition of Bill Evans on Sax brings the funk songs to their full potential. Bill is one of Jazz’s most under-rated sax players and I’ve found his playing to be consistently spectacular since his debut with the Miles Davis “come back” band featuring Mike Stern and Marcus Miller in 1981. There is also some fantastic percussion work by Pete Lockett, Gilad, and Juan Carlos Melián.
The most noticeable of the new sounds on this incredible recording are the two entries featuring Konnakol (South Indian Vocal Percussion) by Steve Smith and Pete Lockett. I found the songs fit the Electric Jazz project exceptionally well. It probably helps that they are both very good at it. For Fusion fans that enjoy odd time signatures, I found one song in 15 during my first listen and not surprisingly learned it was called 7 and a Half.
While I refer to the project as Fusion and Electric Jazz, the compositions vary widely from South Indian Konnakol, Funk, and straight ahead Jazz, to Fusion intensity and they all demonstrate exceptional improvisational and technical skills by everyone. Another strong plus factor for Fusion fans is there is only one ballad and it’s smartly placed at the end of the disc (not a Fusion first, but it’s always appreciated).
One thing that has always been present in the Vital Information recordings is what I call the “accessibility factor”. It’s doubtful that any musical enterprise would last 24 years without some attention paid to fans that appreciate a less self-indulgent and more “easy on the ears” style. Consequently some Fusion fans have found past projects a little too tame. Steve and company have a solid home run with Vitalization. Everyone can enjoy this at any level of appreciation. For those that listen to the “songs”, they will enjoy some great music, while those that listen “note for note” will appreciate the incredible performances and energetic pace of the project.
Overall I would have to give this recording a solid 5-Star rating and strongly recommend it to anyone that enjoys the creative musical style called Fusion and anyone that appreciates a great Jazz recording.
By: Rick Calic
allaboutjazz.com
Date: June 2007
Led by all-universe drummer Steve Smith, this quartet has been a major force within jazz-fusion circles amid shifting personnel since the 80s. With the band's latest effort, firebrand guitarist Vinny Valentino rises to the occasion with the departure of Frank Gamble along with guest spots by saxophonist Bill Evans and others.
Smith's recent studying and performances of South Indian vocal music (konnakol) comes to fruition here with support from indigenous percussionist Pete Lockett. And as many of us would anticipate, the artists' modus operandi is firmly entrenched within upbeat grooves, presented here in various shapes and colors. On this endeavor, the unit lays down Indo/funk-fusion parts along with other works that highlight its signature style of embedding tricky time signatures into rock solid backbeats. Moreover, they pursue New Orleans-based shuffle rhythms, supersonic fusion vamps and peppery organ-combo motifs.
Valentino's snazzy and funkified chord progressions on the soul-drenched piece titled "The Trouble With (Valentino)" is augmented by Evans' hard-edged tenor sax choruses. In other areas, Smith's polyrhythmic flurries spawn a series of breaks and exchanges with his band-mates. At times, Valentino steps on the distortion pedal and soars skyward in hyper-mode fashion. And Tom Coster's twisting synth lines on the gumbo-groove workout titled "You Know What I Mean" features Valentino's badass guitar solo, where the musicians proceed to slam matters into overdrive. Nonetheless, Smith and associates leap back onto the scene with a colossal bang, as diversity and strong material abet the album's overall success. (Release date: 6-5-2007)
Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita
drummersdigest.com
Date: Thursday, 31 May 2007
When I met Steve Smith for our video interview, the recording process for Vitalization was yet to start, but the band tried out some of the songs at both the sound check and at the concert. As a result, I recognized some of the songs at the first listening – talk about hit potential!
Vital Information makes fusion jazz at its best. They’re so tight it’s scary. Another thing that’s striking me when listening to Vitalization is how Steve makes everything he does sound so playful and easy, and in a very musical and kind of melodious way. The opening “Interwoven Rhythms: Synchronus” with its sung “konnakol” parts has some very advanced rhythm patterns, and at that early point Steve and the band sets the bar for the whole album, and actually manages to exceed the built-up expectations.
With tracks like “Seven and a Half” (yeah, it’s the time signature) and “J Ben Jazz” the record doesn’t grow old very fast, and with Steve behind the drums it’s a guaranteed source for those jazz drummers out there who manage to get hold of a copy. Especially since it also has the great percussionist Pete Lockett featured on many of the songs. If you’re about to buy a new record, and you know that jazz and fusion is your bag, I seriously recommend this one.
allaboutjazz.com
By John Kelman
Drummer Steve Smith’s flagship group, Vital Information, approaches the 25-year mark with Vitalization. Keyboardist Tom Coster has been a member since 1987, working with Smith on other projects since the mid-1970s. With bassist Baron Browne holding down the bottom end since 1997; newcomer Vinny Valentino (replacing longstanding guitarist Frank Gambale) represents the first change to the core group in a decade.
Some might miss Gambale’s aggressive fusion energy, but Vital Information has been gradually evolving towards the cleaner sound heard on Come On In (Tone Center, 2004). That George Benson was Valentino’s mentor will come as no surprise based on the fleet-fingered yet soulful soloing heard here. Valentino’s similarly warm yet funky tone (honed with Hammond B3 trios in his native Washington, DC) also possesses some of Pat Martino’s darker hue and way of building solos on repetitive motifs.
Vitalization may groove with American-centric funk, swing, and fire, but Smith has been studying Indian rhythms and konnakol technique in recent years. He and guest Peter Lockett layer this vocal percussion over the up-tempo funk of “Interwoven Rhythms—Synchronous” and the greasier groove of “Interwoven Rhythm—Dialogue,” where Smith and Lockett alternate between unison and call-and-response.
Ignoring for a moment, the strong collaborative writing that makes up half of the album’s dozen original tracks, Valentino emerges as a writing force that’s just as noteworthy as his playing. He’s a diverse tunesmith, ranging from the fiery funk of “The Trouble With” (one of four tracks with guest saxophonist Bill Evans), the modern mainstream of “J Ben Jazz” which is as much a feature for the underappreciated Browne as it is for Valentino, to “Positano,” an elegant closer that finds Coster substituting accordion for the organ and electric piano tones that dominates the majority of the set.
Of Coster’s three compositions, the percussion-heavy/DC Go-Go-centric “Groove Time” and straight-ahead soul jazz swinger “Jimmy Jive (for Jimmy Smith)” are in fact, the same tune, demonstrating the difference context can make.
Vital Information has evolved considerably over the years with no album sounding quite like its predecessor, though the lineage is always clear. There’s no shortage of controlled energy (check out the guitar/drums duo intro to Valentino’s feature on “The Trouble With”) and even a hint of real fusion towards the end of “Seven and a Half,” where Smith’s powerful solo leads into a Jan Hammer-esque synth spot for Coster. But Vitalization’s biggest strength is Vital Information’s ever-increasing maturity—due in equal parts, to the longevity of the Smith-Coster-Browne triumvirate and Valentino’s infusion of a fresh perspective.
JAZZREVIEW.com
Date: June 2007
Steve Smith and Vital Information have been on the fusion scene now for over 20 years, serving up a different and diverse flavor of their creativity with each project. The group’s founder and drummer, Steve Smith, has worked with everyone from the Buddy Rich band to Journey. He’s won Modern Drummer magazine's #1 All Around Drummer award five years in a row and was voted one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time in a recent Modern Drummer readers poll (pretty hefty accolades!). In 2002, he was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.
None of this is to diminish in any way the talent with which Smith surrounds himself, mind you. I’m sure he’ll be the first to acknowledge the guys to whom he owes much. Multi-talented bassist Baron Browne (who’s worked with Jean Luc Ponty, Tom Jones, Billy Cobham, and Steps Ahead), masterful keyboardist Tom Coster (of Santana fame), and Benson-influenced guitarist Vinny Valentino, not to mention special guest sax great Bill Evans, all place an indelible shine on this group and this project.
This latest project has all of the markings of a fusion hit: color, fluidity, perception, and intensity. The group adeptly handles fusion, straight-ahead, funk, blues, challenging time signatures, and crafty voicings in a delightfully palatable manner. There’s a little something here for most jazzers. The smooth yet funky bass of Browne, the snazzy sax of Bill Evans, the authoritative and thunderous drums of Smith, the classic Hammond sound of Coster, and the diversity of a band in command of its message. The tonal direction goes from strictly thick fusion pieces, like “Get Serious,” to mostly straight-ahead cuts like Valentino’s “The Bottom Line,” which also offers a bluesy undertone, and “Jimmy Jive,” which sports that funky Jimmy Smith sound (it’s actually a tribute to the colorful organist) to tribal-influenced, odd-timed selections like “Seven and a Half” (an interesting story goes with this one).
In a nutshell, with Vitalization, Smith and Vital Information manage to keep alive the flow of innovative consistency, as well as the sheer magic of the group.
Reviewed by: Ronald Jackson
AUDAUD.com
Date: June 2007
This band has been in operation for two decades, but was new to me. Drummer Smith plays in various straight-ahead and Indian/fusion bands, and expresses all of his influences in his own group, Vitalization. This is their 12th recording, as a matter of fact. If you haven't heard of konnakol before, it's the proper name for the South Indian vocal percussion which performers such as Zakir Hussain often do on recordings of sitar music. I hadn't heard it in jazz before, except humorously, and the two tracks involving konnakol here are a real kick - and not without humor either (the two Interwoven Rhythms tracks). Smith and Lockett are at the left and right channels, doing their machine-gun fast stereo rhythmic chants simultaneously in perfect sync.
Many of the other dozen tracks make use of various unusual Indian time signatures. I was reminded of some of the tracks of the old Don Ellis Band. Often players concentrate so hard on these odd times - such as 15/8 - that they forget to swing. Things take on a mechanical aspect. That doesn't happen with Vitalization; these musicians are well used to these rhythms and can really get into a funky groove. Guitarist Vinny Valentino often is the funky glue that holds the whole fusion apparatus together.
- John Henry