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| Gary Willis - No Sweat (rel.1997) |
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| "Tribal Tech bassist Gary Willis makes his solo debut with No Sweat (Alchemy ****). Accompanied by Tribal Tech keyboardist Scott Kinsey, saxophonist Steve Tavaglione and monster drummer Dennis Chambers, Willis showcases the most facile fretless bass chops since Jaco Pastorius. And he makes his mark as a composer as well with strong pieces like "The Everlasting Night" "Ancient Promise" and the title track. An excellent outing by one of fusion's finest." -Bill Milkowski, Tower Pulse Magazine If this is fusion, there's hope yet for the genre. -Josef Woodard, Jazziz Magazine Gary Willis decided to make No Sweat while awaiting the next Tribal Tech project. The ten track CD's title alludes to the informal, spontaneous, less-composed direction Tribal Tech has also pursued on it's last two discs... Gary's exquisite ballads are also present in the form of "Hymn " and "The Everlasting Night"; the latter recalls Jaco's collaborations with Toots Thielemans, thanks to Tavaglione's MIDI-wind instrument harmonica patch. In a revealing turn, Willis exposes his traditional roots on a pair of tunes: The uptempo, straightahead "Stagger" boasts a monk-ish melody and a free-blowing spirit that leads to some of Gary's most wicked soloing to date. On "Easy Street", acoustic piano, sampled trumpet, and Willis decidedly upright concept bring to mind early-'60s Blue Note sounds, with writing that puts most of the "young lions" to shame. -Chris Jisi, Bass Player Magazine What can we call electric jazz since the "fusion" label has long since been co-opted by purveyors of funky Muzak? Whatever you call it, this CD has it, will to wall - an early Weather Report vibe, but with a cocky '90s edge. Leader/composer Willis motivates the quartet from his fluid, hopping bass guitar, Dennis Chambers jabs like a boxer with his sticks, Steve Tavaglione wails on sax and EWI, and Scott Kinsey fills in the outside voicings and burns his way through several startling solos, mainly on Rhodes and Hammond... This is one of those CDs where people poke their head in the door of the office and say, "What is that?" Crisp production, plenty of dynamics and variety, fine charts, and it swings. -Jim Aiken, Keyboard Magazine For juiced-up small group fusion, check out Gary Willis' adventurous No Sweat (Alchemy ALCD 1009; 68:49). Leading a wild, yet inexplicably tight quartet, the Tribal Tech bassist crafts oddball pieces like the heavy, off-timed "Stagger," and the bubbling "No Sweat," with tangled Steve Tavaglione sax lines climbing and twisting over Scott Kinsey's purring electric keyboards. There are expressive beauties here, too, like the softly swinging "The Everlasting Night," with Willis duetting in the high register with Tavaglione's EWI, and the resonant "Ancient Promise." Patient listeners will appreciate how tunes like these and the dark-toned "Easy Street" are given time to develop and grow, affording Willis' bandmates plenty of exciting solo improv opportunities, but the effort might be lost on those looking for a less demanding listen. -Jazz Times Magazine The final artist dealt with in this overview is bassist Gary Willis. No Sweat (57:30, ALCD 1009) is a kind of retro, '70s-style fusion jazz that draws inspiration from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and to a lesser degree, Weather Report and even later CTI Records. There are funk elements and synthesizer and keyboard sounds, including what sounds like a Fender Rhodes electric piano, that have that characteristic early '70s fusion sound. -Progression Magazine |
