Am I being hyperbolic by comparing guitarist Dewa Budjana to Pat Metheny? Hey, I’m not the one who hired Ben Williams/b and Antonio Sanchez/dr to the session! This guy is known in Bali for his rock band GIGVI, but here he shows his incredible jazz chops and allegiance. Besides the Metheny-ites, Joe Locke’s good vibes and keyboardist Indra Lesmana bring here six tunes that makes jazz fusion fun again. The rhythm on the exciting “Saniscara” is simply intoxicating, while the grooves on the gentle be driving “ Desember” and the semi-coronation sounding Jayaprana” are clever trips into wonderful worlds. Budjana’s got a fresh sound on the guitar, with some flavorful solos as on the rocking “ Ruang Dialisis” and getting funky on the wondrous journey with Locke’s vibes on the funky ”Just Kidung.” The band glows like a sunset on Luta Beach as Williams does some impressive bass work on “Payogan Rain.” As with all things in jazz fusion, there are moments of drama as well as joy. These gents sound like everyone is excited about being on this session; you can feel it with each strum and hit with a stick. Gotta love it!
Moon June Records