Search - Michael Musillami :: The Treatment

Effective Treatment

David Conklin | Albuquerque, NM USA | 03/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best jazz guitar albums I've heard in a long time. And arguably the star is not even the guitarist, but rather violinist Mark Feldman. The core trio of Musillami (guitar), Joe Fonda (bass), and George Schuller (percussion) has been together for several years, and has a pretty tight and groovy thing going on here. However, it may be the contrast between Musillami and Feldman (whose virtuosity has a prominent role on all 6 tracks) that makes this such a strong and perhaps even essential modern jazz recording.



Although relatively little-known, Musillami is one of today's quintessential jazz guitarists. Here he displays a mastery of his instrument, with nice combinations of chord progressions, single-note runs, and just about everything else that can make a guitar such an effective jazz machine. At times, THE TREATMENT may bring to mind John McLaughlin's classic EXTRAPOLATION, or even Stevie Ray Vaughn, at least more so than, say, a Metheny, Scofield, or Abercrombie.



Musillami composed all 6 of these longish tracks, which, although quite accessible, could seem a bit obscure for casual jazzers. However, I find them enormously appealing, and they've been getting a lot of playing time, both in the living room and on the highway. The package comes with a no-frills DVD (46 minutes long) with live versions of 3 of these songs, captured a few days before the CD was recorded--a very nice bonus.

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