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Cosmic Messenger

Jean-Luc Ponty

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Album Review

Cosmic Messenger is more elegant, European-flavored jazz-rock from the French virtuoso Jean-Luc Ponty, and pretty much in the same mold as his previous Atlantic albums but with gradually tightening control over every parameter of performance. Ponty's analog-delay special effects on the title track are spectacular, and the album is loaded more than ever with revolving electronic arpeggios as Ponty's own involvement with the ARP synthesizer grows. But there is still plenty of his fluid, slippery electric violin soloing to be heard within the tight structures of these pieces, and the tunes themselves are often pretty good. In addition, this fusion express finds its way into the funk on "The Art of Happiness," and there are some tricky rhythmic experiments on some tunes. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

Customer Reviews

More than outstanding

To put it simply, this is Ponty's masterpiece. Although all his Atlantic albums are worthwhile, this is by far his best. The blend of "Don't Let the World Pass You By" and "I Only
Feel Good With You" happens to be one of the finest combination of pieces from the genre. While the whole fusion thing was overdone, this, along with the first four albums
by Al Di Meola, Miles Davis's less-frenetic post "In a Silent Way" work and most of the Return to Forever catalog pretty much sums up the best of the whole genre. This is still
my favorite. Ponty quite simply proves that not all French Jazz violin is limited to Quintet of the Hot Club variety -great though it is. This might just be the perfect recording for
a long, mellow beach drive on a lazy summer day.

Biography

Born: September 29, 1942 in Avranches, France

Genre: Jazz

Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

It has been a long, fascinating odyssey for Jean-Luc Ponty, who started out as a straight jazz violinist only to become a pioneer of the electric violin in jazz-rock in the '70s and an inspired manipulator of sequencers and synthesizers in the '80s. At first merely amplifying his violin in order to be heard, he switched over to electric violin and augmented it with devices that were associated with electric guitarists and keyboardists, like Echoplex machines, distortion boxes, phase shifters, and...
Full Bio

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