Jorge Arana Trio - "Mapache" (self-released)

Jazzy virtuosity in the cassette world isn't something I hear too often, yet with the debut album by the Jorge Arana Trio, that is all I hear. Mapache is a prog/fusion sketch book. None of the compositions stretch out, or go seeking unknown vistas of sound like classic jazz-fusion era recordings by Miles, Herbie Hancock, or Mahavishnu Orchestra did back in the 70s; only two of the twelve compositions break the four minute mark, hardly "exploratory," but what these pieces lack in improv-scale run splendor, they make up for in professional chops. The dissonance of some of the keyboard chords and/or the freak out bursts of electric guitar are the best bits for me. For example, the screeching fuzz and irregular riffage of album closing "Ether" is part On the Corner, part Beefheart. I enjoy the giant sound these three fellas capture from their straight forward trio line-up. There are a lot of good ideas on the debut album from Jorge Arana Trio and I look forward to hearing how they grow past the tentative (though pleasing) first steps.

Buy and Listen HERE.