In 2012, record producer and
Yes
bassist
Billy Sherwood
assembled a star-studded cast of prog, jazz, funk, and metal musicians including
Rick Wakeman
,
Mel Collins
Jerry Goodman
Chester Thompson
Percy Jones
Steve Hillage
John Etheridge
, and many more. They issued an eponymous long-player in 2012 on
Purple Pyramid
that won global attention from the jazz, prog, and fusion communities. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a one-off; no tour or subsequent recordings followed -- until now.
Cleopatra
staff producer
Francisco Perdomo
resurrected
the Fusion Syndicate
project, did his own recruiting, and came up with
Speedway on Saturn's Rings
, a second album, with another already in the can. The cast contains some repeat players, namely
Thompson
and
Wakeman
, but it goes wider.
On the title-track set opener,
is joined by bassist
Jah Wobble
(they serve as the rhythm section more often than not) and guitarist
Al Di Meola
. A striking bit of fusion introduced in a minor key with a charging guitar and bass riff,
is the glue keeping spiraling, funky impulses from the guitarist and bassist in check. The track loosely recalls
Jan Hammer
's and
Jeff Beck
's fusion classic "Freeway Jam."
Wobble
also accompany guitarist
Chris Poland
(
Megadeth
) on "Planet 15," wedding jazz syncopation, metallic guitar riffs, and a startlingly colorful chord progression.
composed the wonderfully bombastic, soaring "Io," layering keyboards above
's downtuned bassline. A reading of "The Bottle" by
Gil Scott-Heron
Brian Jackson
is rendered with a socially concious, nocturnal jazz-funk by
Jackson
, bassist/vocalist
Bootsy Collins
, and drummer
Carmine Appice
. Dutch guitar legend and
Focus
co-founder
Jan Akkerman
joins
Fusion Syndicate
for a knotty exercise in hard prog on the appropriately titled "Blasting Off." Former
Gong
saxophonist
Didier Malherbe
joins the lineup for "Lunar Rover on Mars," an exquisite exercise in lithe, canny, swinging jazz-rock. The official closer is "Coming Back Home." A vehicle for guitarist
Steve Stevens
and bassist
Alphonso Johnson
, it weaves together layered acoustic guitars and banjo in the backdrop as
Stevens
erects a minor-key electric progression effortlessly moving between jazz, psych, and blues atop shimmering percussion, floating keyboards, and a clean, winding bassline.
The Fusion Syndicate
recorded far more material than what is included here. For
Speedway
, they tack on four remastered cuts drawn from their eponymous debut. Remarkably, they fit the album's musical aesthetic perfectly.
Perdomo
also held back ten tracks from these sessions for the November 2024 release
Beautiful Horizon
. These records amount to an early holiday surprise for fans of fusion, prog, and excellent playing. ~ Thom Jurek