Caribbean-born jazz pianist, composer, arranger and producer Eddie Bullen has always been able to incorporate the Caribbean influences of his home island Grenada into smooth jazz. He started his musical solo career with the debut album Nocturnal Affair (1996), followed by Make It Real (2000), Desert Rain (2004), Spice Island (2015) and Havana Nights, a collaborative album with Cuban/Canadian percussionist Joaquin Nunez Hidalgo (2009). Kaleidoscope (2020) is his newest project.

Eddie performs on the new album piano. He is joined by Larnell Lewis, Otis Williams  (drums), Rob Christian (alto saxophone/flute), Etric Lyons, Sam Williams, Andrew Stewart (bass guitar), Elmer Ferrrer, Jeremy Hector, Lucian Gray, Quincy Bullen (electric guitar), and Michelle White (vocals).

The album opens with Sunset Marquee. A fresh supreme sounding piano play exquisitely decorated by Rob Christian's flute. Esplanado flatters with South American flair. Couldn't it be a piano in an elegant hotel on Copacabana beach? With Avant-Garde Eddie firmly enters the jazz fusion ground and leaves his acoustic scent behind.

Eddie delivers with De After Dark an extraordinary harmonic experience beyond the boundaries of genres. An amalgam of keys and chords with breathtaking technical proficiency. Give beauty an acoustic face and Kaleidoscope appears. A respectable dreamy melody executed with finesse and panache.

With Funkalishous Eddie enters the pinnacle of Brazilian flavored jazz fusion filled with nuanced textures in a style most recently late George Duke brought to sonic perfection. Master Cutter is not a title that is at home in the craft sector, on the contrary Eddie juggles with different styles and tempos as only an artist understands it.

Morpheus is in the ancient Greek mythology the god of dreams and sleep. Moviegoers know him as one protagonist of the Matrix trilogy, which will be soon continued. In this specific case it is a virtuoso jazz fusion showpiece. Blue Wave deals intensively with a musical theme that is repeated in different alterations. Solos by flutist Rob Christian and Eddie Bullen on keyboards are the icings of the cake. Urban Suburban finalizes the album with a bass and drum-driven piano piece in which Eddie once again shines as a virtuoso.

Eddie Bullen's album Kaleidoscope stands out pleasingly from the recordings of its musical competitors. For me personally a new discovery that has awakened my interest to research his older projects as well.