Stranger's Hand
Drummer Steve Smith's ToneCenter label continues to rescue jazz fusion from the doghouse of jazz history withThe Stranger's Hand, a high-octane quartet affair that features Smith alongside formerMahavishnu Orchestraviolinist Jerry Goodman,Allman Brothersbassist Oteil Burbridge, and multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy. Composed spontaneously in the studio over the span of several days,The Stranger's Handdoesn't pull any punches from the first lightning-fast unison runs of "Brick Chicken." It also isn't afraid to show its early-fusion influence, with several tracks uncannily echoing the early Mahavishnu Orchestra. Part of "Glimmer of Hope" is almost a dead ringer for "Dance of the Maya" fromInner Mounting Flame, and there are times when Goodman seems to be doing his best fleet-fingered John McLaughlin imitation. Still, if anyone can pull that off, it's Goodman, whose range on electric and acoustic violin is still extraordinary--he's equally adept at the searing electric-fusion runs of "Caliente" as he is on the bluegrass-New Orleans feel of "Sufferin' Catfish" and the straightahead jazz of "Elvin." Also, there are other spices here that make the disc distinctive, from Burbridge'sGeorge Benson-esque scat soloing on "Pinky's Revenge" to the harmonica of Levy (who also doubles on keyboards) that sometimes lends the group a bluesier, more countrified sound.--Ezra Gale