"In a time where technology and the sciences have evolved so dramatically, the acceptance and support for alternate forms of music must eventually rise to that more elevated level, as well." - David Hines
This is the first album as a leader by American bassist David Hines. Hines and his collaborators are all accomplished sidemen and session players in the jazz and fusion scenes and although they may not be household names, they bring a wealth of technical skill and academic pedigree to the recording of Nebula. Fusion guitar legend Allan Holdsworth sits in for two tracks, presumably to lend some name recognition to the project. Nebula is a fusion album that leaves no mystery as to Hines' primary sources of inspiration — it's a concerted effort to sound like it was made in the mid-1970s and is strongly influenced by Al DiMeola-era Return to Forever, though without as much flash or bombast. There are also shades of Weather Report, and I hear a bit of Holdsworth-era Gong as well, though that could simply be the result of Holdsworth's presence here. These are pretty lofty aims but the group does deliver, at least on the technical aspects. This is a tasteful, well-played album and the group moves fluidly through the tricky compositions. My chief complaint would be that I don't find any particular composition to be all that memorable — they're set at about the same tempo (except for "Lucia," which is slower and more lush), all use similar instrumentation and all do similar things. The album successfully transports the listener back into another era but, for me at least, it doesn't stay in my head when I'm not playing it. Still, if you've burnt out on your Return to Forever records and are craving a fusion fix, Nebula will give you something to chew on. And Allan Holdsworth devotees now have a new title to track down. review by & © Matt P. — 10-26-06 — © ground and sky 1999-2008 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:c-ukU1cI6DQJ:www.progreviews.com/reviews/display.php%3Frev%3Ddh-neb+david+hines+nebula&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie
Back in the '70s, the US bassist and composer David HINES attended both the Berklee College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and also received private instruction from Stanley Clarke (of Return To Forever and solo fame) on bass and composition. "Nebula" is the debut solo album by David, featuring guitarist Steve Kirby, drummer Steve Michaud, keyboardist Steve Hunt (who worked with Billy Cobham, Allan Holdsworth and Stanley Clarke) and the famous guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Tony Williams Lifetime, Tempest, Soft Machine, Gong, UK, Bruford, solo). Among his principal musical influences, Mr. Hines lists Miles Davis, Weather Report and Return To Forever, but only the name of Chick Corea's ensemble occasionally comes to my mind when I listen to "Nebula". Overall however, this stuff is so unique that any common comparisons would be redundant regarding it. It's not the outfit's declining to use the riffing structure of Return To Forever or The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and it's not the absence of brass instruments (which are an essential part of Miles Davis's creation) or swingy rhythms (typical for Weather Report) here that determines the originality of this music. It was primordially original in conception and was later arranged without appealing to conventional methods. Well, the style of Allan Holdsworth, who plays on the album's boundary tracks: Skippy and Antillia, is immediately recognizable, but even the former composition (the only that features Allan as a main soloing force) has no derivative sense. All in all, "Nebula" isn't Jazz Rock, but is a confluence of that genre and Progressive Rock, which is Jazz-Fusion, and it's not your typical, average Jazz-Fusion, but is its highly innovative emanation, created by extremely inventive and masterful musicians. The album is stylistically monolithic and pretty uniform structurally, too. All eight of the compositions are notable for up-tempo, dense, intense, nearly ever-changing arrangements, although precisely half of them: Skippy, the title track, No Loops and Lucia feature episodes (kind of David's benefit performances) with some more transparent atmosphere and the bass improvisations coming to the fore either alone, which happens more often, or along with solos of classical guitar and passages of piano, such as on the latter piece. At times, David switches to fretless bass, obvious by its unique sound, which, however, fits idiomatically right into the musical scheme. No Loops is especially eloquent in this respect. All four players are at the top of their activity practically throughout, although keyboardist Steve Hunt a bit more often shines in a primary solo role, imparting a lushly saturated symphonic-like feel to the overall picture. One of the most amazing aspects of this music is that it's neither anxious nor affirmative. What is more, it's filled with plenty of different moods, all exciting, but almost none of which belongs to the traditional spectrum of emotions, which may take place only in the spheres of improvisational or avant-garde academic music. Well, Q, Lucia and Neuro Man will bring to you some more or less recognizable moods, but anyway, you will hardly be able to precisely determine whether they're dark or only dramatic in character. While all the basic themes are carefully composed, they shift very frequently, which, being raised to the power of authentic improvisations, tirelessly crossing the length and breadth of those, makes the music extremely intricate, demanding a meticulous attention from the listener and leading him to have many happy returns to the album. Yes, I am asserting that this disc will never become tiresome. All of the compositions are brilliant, showcasing the superbly tight and diverse, truly ensemble work in the arrangement and in the performance, which more than vastly distinguishes David Hines's debut outing from the average solo album. All you need to love this stuff is a minimal knowledge of an improvisational harmony or at least a correct perception of it, though for many of you, "Nebula" might become that essential bridge between symphonic and jazz music, which will lead you to the wonderful (and highly progressive) world of classic Jazz-Fusion. Along with "Progressivity" by Tunnels, this is one of the best and the most memorable works of the genre I've heard in recent years and is an undoubted candidate to take one of the highest positions in my Top-20-2005. Ultimately recommended. © VM: June 23, 2005 © http://www.progressor.net/review/david_hines_2005.html
David Hines is much more than just a great bass player: he is a great composer. Dave has just released, Nebula, one of the freshest and tastiest fusion albums of the year! What is so refreshing is that the entire album burns and turns around every melodic and rhythmic corner. Dave's bass playing is phenomenal. Check out his basswork on "Lucia" and "No Loops". Every composition on the cd, without exception, breathes with deep inspiration and super confidence (the hallmarks of all great music). Plain and simple: this is a great cd! To top it off, the legendary, Allan Holdsworth, blazes his signature style over the opening and closing tracks, "Skippy" and "Antillia". Perhaps the key to producing such a successful sounding debut recording is the combination of great engineering by keyboard player, Steve Hunt (who also plays on the cd and is a long time Holdsworth alum) and the awesome guitar work of Steve Kirby, along with the imaginative drumming of Steve Michaud (holy shit Steve, where have you been?...tasty, tasty chops). With Dave's tightly composed tunes, all the musicians come together to create an exciting atmosphere that is reminiscent of classic bands such as Weather Report, Return to Forever, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The biggest melodic surprise on the album is the ingenious soloing by guitarist, Steve Kirby (http://www.stevekirby.com/). With a heavy lean toward the Holdsworthordian school of guitar playing, Steve flows and rocks with his own original style. Check out his solos on "Q" and "Toe Nail". As one of the best keyboard players in the world, Steve Hunt is reknowned for his innovative style. In addition to playing with Holdsworth for many years, Steve has worked with artists such as Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham and Gregg Bendian, to name a few. Steve adds a tremendous variety of tone, color and melody to the "Nebula" cd and his role as producer/engineer really makes all the music shine. "Nebula" is a truly remarkable debut cd for David Hines. It showcases his talent as both bassist and composer. Every jazz-rock fan who yearns for that delicious fusion of creativity and virtuosity will love it. "Nebula" transcends imitation without compromise! 100% inspiration! I really look forward to album number two! Five stars on this one! ***** - from Fusion At It's Finest by & © John Pritchard © http://www.jazz-rock.com/artists-DH.html
"Sometimes you know immediately when something is right. When David came to my studio and played me the tracks of his new fusion endeavor that's just the way I felt. This stuff is killin!" - Steve Hunt
When the great Virginian bassist David Hines played keyboard wizard Steve Hunt some of the demos for this album, Steve offered to produce and play on the entire album. Steve then asked the brilliant fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth, his old band mate, to play on two tracks, and also drummer Steve Michaud, who had played on Steve's two previous solo albums. Bostonian guitarist Steve Kirby also features prominently on this impressive debut album. Listen to David's "Inner Duality" album and promote great fusion [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 116 Mb]
TRACKS
1. Skippy 5:01
2. Q 4:58
3. Toe Nail 5:16
4. Nebula 6:57
5. Lucia 8:01
6. No Loops 5:07
7. Neuro Man 6:29
8. Antillia 8:13
All tracks composed by David Hines
MUSICIANS
Steve Kirby - Guitars
Allan Holdsworth - Electric Guitar soloist on Tracks 1, & 8
David Hines - Basses
Steve Hunt - Keyboards, Piano
Steve Michaud - Drums
ABOUT "NEBULA" BY DAVID HINES
"Hi, my name is Dave Hines, bassist-composer. I have been in the music scene on the East Coast for some 30 years, and have finally been able to get a jazz rock album off the ground. Coming out of Berklee School of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music, Most of the Fusion Stars , (including my former bass teacher, Stanley Clarke), were generally about 5 or more years older than me, or more. When I felt musically mature enough to try and tackle this music, it went away. It was replaced with smooth jazz , as the alternative to traditional jazz, which, to me was much less interesting from a harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic standpoint. In fact I quit music for about 5 years and sulked, but then realized that I was not very happy with that, so I dabbled in R+B originals, got into traditional type jazz gigs playing fretless, and keyboard gigs as well. The more I was playing keyboard, the better for my songwriting. I got back on the bass, and I had no problem being in some very cool, groove-oriented bands, especially when I found myself back in Boston. However, there was still the jazz-rock side of me, wanting to come out. I realized that with all the musicians in the Boston area, I could take a chance, and get back into writing my favorite type of music, and find people to play it. (Being that the music was so ill-supported for a while, I could never find more than 1 or 2 players in any given area). I got 8 tunes together, and primarily with the help, and direction, of Steve Hunt, proceeded to record the album of my dreams. I had heard Steve before with Alan Holdsworth, and I knew from the start, what a lucky thing it was for him to like my songs enough to perform, record, and produce the material. Then, with the help of Billboard jazz songwriting winner-guitarist Steve Kirby, drummer Steve Michaud (legendary fusion drummer recommended by Steve H.), and of course, the legendary Allan Holdsworth on guitar, the jazz rock album of my dreams came to be. This thing is fresh out of the studio, that is why we don' t have a tour yet, however interest for one is currently being generated in Europe." - DAVID HINES talking about "NEBULA" - © David Hines © http://www.jazz-rock.com/artists-DH.html
SHORT BIO
Born to famous Opera singers Jerome Hines and Lucia (maiden name) Evangelista. He played piano and cello as a child, then pursued electric bass and guitar from age 11 on. Pursued his music education, attending Berklee College of music, Manhattan School of music, and receiving private instruction from Stanley Clarke on bass and composition back in the seventies. Dave was principally interested in the fusion music of Miles Davis, Weather Report, Return to Forever, and others. Dave went on to promote fusion music, playing with George Johnson ( from Lonnie Smith, Mcoy Tyner) and other fusion projects all along the way. Recording credits include Pamela Hines and Boston bandmate Miles Donahue. He is currently private teaching and performing in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and living there with his wife Pamela (jazz pianist), and his Daughters Katrina and Gabriella. This is his first solo album, and is is currently writing for album number 2. visit Dave's official website:www.davidhines.com © http://www.jazz-rock.com/artists-DH.html
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