The Trio of Stridence

The Trio of Stridence - Pastrami Standards - 2005 - Warn A Brutha Records

The Trio of Stridence is more a one off project than a set band per se. Coming from the fruition of a jam session, three musicians were set to take the chemistry of their like minded musician tastes and translate it into an official fusion release. And it's really a gem of a cd to be quite honest. Guitarist - Alex Masi, bass player - and drummer Paul Marangoni. Masi of late has really made some impressive strides as a legit fusion guitarist, moving away from the neo-classical shred guitarist he was known for back a decade or so ago. With is his work on MCM(Masi, Coven, Macaluso), and more recently his solo cd with drummer Macaluso, his sense for the original and honest freedom of fusion has proven he has the skills and imagination to be a full force on todays hard fusion scene. This cd is not an Alex Masi cd, yet easily could have been, The Trio of Stridence is of course a three piece guitar, bass, drums setup that delivers a dozen remakes of jazz/rock fusion standards. Taking an approach of remaking some of the hard fusion classics, this trio tackles some Weather Report, Beck, Zappa, Mahavishnu, and even some King Crimson classics to round out the affair, so it's an all-instrumental guitar forward fusion fest, and the star of this show is obviously Masi, who not only has to imitate some of the finest guitarist of the golden age of fusion, but he does the keyboardists parts on his guitar as well. He has really blossomed into a classy fusion guitarist, worthy of doing these songs in a very respectable and formidable manner. Not knowing too much about the supporting musicians, I do know that drummer Paul Marangoni had been in ex-Max Webster member Kim Mitchell's solo band in the 80's. He is an excellent all-around drummer, and perfectly compliments Masi's playing, he, like Masi, shows that having jazz and rock sensibilities as a musicians make for some very dynamic interplay, here Marangoni proves himself to be a drummer that we should be hearing a lot more of, never over playing, or limiting his sense for creative, on the fly inventive playing. What little I know of Marangoni, I know even less of the bassist - Allan, but understanding that while tackling some Pastorius, you better have some chops, and well he does. So here you have a trio of musicians that are playing some of the memorable fusion standards, all tastefully done, full of personal expression, and top notch musicianship. For those of you that enjoy the golden era of fusion, and great guitar, this is a perfect cd for you. © MJBrady © ProGGnosis - Progressive Rock & Fusion 2000 - 2013 where appropriate - All rights reserved http://www.proggnosis.com/Release_Detail.aspx?RID=20536

The Trio Of Stridence was formed in early 2002 when guitarist Alex Masi was playing improvisational music and jamming with regulars in The Kibitz Room at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles. Drummer Paul Marangoni and bassist Jeffrey Allan were later invited to join Alex. The trio held a regular spot at Canter's Deli where they played fusion covers as well as their own compositions and a lot of improvisational jamming. The trio also was popular at several other venues around L.A where they played under the name of "The Trio Of Doom", a name borrowed from the very short lived band featuring John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams who only played one gig in Havana, Cuba but still had a major influence on Alex Masi’s brand of fusion. The Trio of Stridence had a loyal fan base and was featured in the Los Angeles Times’ Calendar section in 2003. The trio still played Canter's Deli at more irregular intervals, and in early 2004, the trio decided to record some of their best material. "Pastrami Standards" was recorded over a 12 month period between band members’ other engagements. It’s an exceptional jazz fusion covers album and VHR by A.O.O.F.C [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 128 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Red - Robert Fripp 6:22
2. Bambu Forest - David Earle Johnson, Jan Hammer 1:53
3. Even Odds - Jan Hammer 1:57
4. Blue Wind - Jan Hammer 5:39
5. Teen Town - Jaco Pastorius 3:10
6. Too Much To Lose - Jan Hammer 3:39
7. Zoot Allures - Frank Zappa 4:09
8. Continuum - Jaco Pastorius 3:16
9. Stratus - Billy Cobham 5:49
10. Everybodys Party - John Scofield 4:31
11. Vital Transformation - John McLaughlin 5:17
12. Red Rocks - Simon Phillips 7:39

TRACK NOTES

"Red" is on the King Crimson album of the same name. "Bambu Forest" is on Jan Hammer's "Oh Yeah?" album. "Even Odds" is on Jeff Beck's "Who Else?" album and "Blue Wind" is on "Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live" album. "Teen Town" is on Weather Report's "Heavy Weather" album. "Too Much To Lose" is on The Jan Hammer Group's "Melodies" album, and Jeff Beck recorded it it on his "There And Back" album. "Zoot Allures" is from Frank Zappa's album of the same name. "Continuum" is from Jaco Pastorius' first solo album and also appears on some "Word of Mouth" live recordings. "Stratus" is on Billy Cobham's "Spectrum" album. "Everybody's Party" is from John Scofield & Pat Metheny's "I Can See Your House from Here" album. "Vital Transformation" is on The Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Inner Mounting Flame" album. "Red Rocks" is on Simon Phillips' "Protocol" album

MUSICIANS

Alex Masi - Guitar
Jeffrey Alan - Bass
Paul Marangoni - Drums