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17.2.14

William Stravato


William Stravato - Cybertones - 2002 - Virtuoso / 99th Floor

A self-taught musician, Stravato acknowledges Beck and Hendrix as his main early influences. At the age of eighteen he discovered the music of Weather Report, Chick Corea, Jean-Luc Ponty and and Allan Holdsworth whose style has a profound impact on the young musician. In 1997 William attended the world renowned Guitar Institute of Technology of Hollywood where he studied with Scott Henderson, Mike Miller, Brett Garsed, T.J. Helmerich, Joey Tafolla and many others. He returned to Italy and released his debut album. William is a columnist in AXE magazine, currently teaching private and public classes. © ProGGnosis 2000 - 2014 where appropriate - All rights reserved. http://www.proggnosis.com/ARTIST_DETAIL.aspx?AID=2082

I have been aware of the hotbed of great music and musicians in Italy for some time now, but I am still constantly impressed with the everflowing wellspring of new talent that keeps coming from there. Here again I am listening to a guitarist in William Stravato, who has captured the technical fusion format with style and flare. This is not the music that typifies the genre pool that I have been aquainted with when concerning Italian bands, as most are from the abundant progressive rock and progressive metal circles that flow from there. But there is no doubt that William Stravato has what it takes to make an indelible mark in the instrumental guitar based fusion scene. His playing shows that his studies with Scott Henderson(Tribal Tech), Brett Garsed (Planet X/ sessions), Mike Miller(Elekric Band II/Gino Vannelli/sessions) while at the Guitar Institute Hollywood, were taken to heart, as his style fits squarely into cumilative styles of all of these players. He has a deft compositional knack also, writing effective and alluring music that draws heavily from progressive and fusion influences. I can hear some hints of Tribal Tech styled music in certai songs, as well as music that has more of a progressive metal leaning that is in the style of Planet X with much less keyboards of course, he also has songs that will remind one of Greg Howe's more progressive music, who I swear is playing on song 7 Cheffile, but apparently it is in fact Stravato. Stravato seems poised to impress the fans of fusion with his collective talents, there are no filler tunes here, just song after song of music that stimulates the listener both melodically and technically. His ability to play seamlessly amidst the constantly fluctuating backdrop of accompanied musical activity is the stuff only the most accomplished pros are able to pull off. So it is safe to say Stravato is right on par with his teachers in every regard. As a self professed fusion fan, this new era of musicians, such as William Stravato, has shown that the genre is very much alive and well, as much as I enjoy going back to the golden years of fusion, guys like this come along and remind me that there is a new breed of musicians that have dilegently worked on their wares and are creating some very valid statements for the continuation of one of my favorite genres. I should mention also that William Stravato employs a more than capable band on this cd, these guys are playing to be noticed, and not partaking in a casual session gig, On keyboards is Luigi Mas, playing some admirable solos throughout, and filling the voids with nice textural work as well, he is a great compliment to Stravato as a soloist and rhythm player. Tom Rotho, is performing on the drums, his playing is every bit as versatile as Stravato's, and flows through the many challenging time changes, whether improvising or following the more stringent technical meters, he shows the kind of competence expected from many of the studio pros from the fusion scene Colaiuta, Weckl, Porcaro, Gadd, Chambers, etal, Rotho has the chops to embellish the already dexterous music with flare. Also on bass is Mario Mazzenga, who performs on all songs with the exception of track 7, he, like Rotho is a very adept and versatile musician, driving the lowend for Stravato's music with both funky and jazz techniques. Brett Garsed also guests on song 1 -Invisible, and I keep looking for Scott Henderson, Greg Howe & Allan Holdsworth's names in the credits as I listen, but none of their names are present(hint hint). Review by & © MJBrady © ProGGnosis 2000 - 2014 where appropriate - All rights reserved. http://www.proggnosis.com/Release_Detail.aspx?RID=4867

Regarded by some critics as a Greg Howe “clone”, William Stravato is a very talented jazz rock fusion guitarist. It gets boring listening to every critic comparing relatively new fusion guitarists to Allan Holdsworth, Greg Howe, and others. Who influenced Holdsworth and Howe? It’s not fair, and some music critics are not reviewing albums on their own merits. This album is not a jazz rock or fusion classic, but it’s a well above average piece of work from a very talented guitarist, and well worth checking out. Give these artists a break. Try and listen to William Stravato’s “Survivor” album and his “Contact” album with Salvatore Russo. Read an Italian review @ http://xoomer.virgilio.it/holymetal/Recensioni/Album/W/William%20Stravato%20-%20Cybertones.htm [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 100 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Invisible (5:25)
2. KC1 (5:01)
3. Master Mind (4:44)
4. Hot Mushroom (4:35)
5. No Left No Right (5:04)
6. Two As One (5:53)
7. Cheffile (3:22)
8. Party At Will's (3:06)
9. Isolation (part II) (5:24)

All tracks composed by William Stravato except Track 5 composed by Luigi Mas

MUSICIANS

William Stravato - Guitar
Brett Garsed - Guitar Solo on Track 1
Mario Mazzenga - Bass except Track 7
Mario Guarini - Bass on Track 7
Luigi Mas - Keyboards, String Arrangements
Tom Rotho - Drums

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