When 3 like-minded veterans of the music business put their heads together and decide to explore the cerebral, the exploratory and the connectivity between the chemistry, you arrive at this result. Electric and synth guitarist Barry Coates, who has toured with Pointer Sisters, Angela Bofill, Willie Bobo, John Klemmer and Kitaro, has also provided music for films and TV shows such as 'Dead Bang', 'Partners in Crime', 'Fatal Attraction’, Two on the Town’, ‘Eye on Hollywood’, ‘Partners in Crime’, the ‘Weather Channel,’ and ‘Playboy After Dark’. In addition, he recorded 2 albums with his band Barry Coates & the Hats, after which he collaborated with bassist Jimmy Haslip on the third, ‘The Spirit Within’. The latter can be heard on more than 400 recordings, and has produced more than 190 himself. Haslip is a founding member of the band Yellowjackets, and the list of his collaborations is impressive. Gino Vannelli, David Sanborn, Jerry Garcia, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Herb Alpert, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Gary Wright, John Scofield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Roy Ayers & Ubiquity, Ricki Lee Jones, George Harrison, Larson/ Feiton Band, Michael McDonald, Lee Ritenour, Billy Cobham, Pat Metheny, George Duke, Joe Walsh, Robert Cray, Branford Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Anita Baker, Walter Becker, Allan Holdsworth, Donald Fagan, Bruce Hornsby and of course the Jeff Lorber Fusion. Add drummer Jerry Kalaf, who has performed and toured with Eddie Harris, Gary Burton, Gary Foster, Frank Strazzeri, Bill Mays, Bill Perkins, Jimmy Cleveland, The Pointer Sisters, Gregory Hines and Major Holley, and the trio is complete. The opener 'Towner' features dreamlike soundscapes by Coates, floating to a beat by Kalaf, with Haslip collaborating on it. 'Transcendent' follows, again on a driving beat, after which it is 'Faith'. 'Swing Set' is more in the direction of contemporary jazz, followed by 'Before', which sounds rather spacious. 'Mays' is more meditative in nature, while 'Sacred' has been worked out acoustically. On the progressive-sounding 'Retrograde', the three musicians give it their all. An album that explores new paths, and will certainly please those who love improvisations. Less my taste though.
		Website Barry Coates Tracks: 1.Towner 2. Transcendent 3. Faith 4. Swing Set 5. Before 6. Mays 7. Sacred 8. Retrograde