Gary Willis Bent CD

Gary Willis presents nine jazzy and funkified pieces all his own and two he co-wrote with bandmates. The personnel here are Tribal Tech's bassist Willis, Scott Kinsey on keys, and Kirk Covington drumming on two tracks. Dennis Chambers provides sweet drums on eight tracks. Reeds are Steve Tavaglione wailing on EWI, tenor, and soprano sax and clarinet. Bob Berg also guests playing one mean tenor sax on three tracks. Imagine Tribal Tech with no Scott Henderson pyrotechnics but Willis stretching out more so on the bass with great reed work heating things up-and you have Bent. He's an amazing bassist as well as composer extraordinaire. This is a laidback release in many places without any helter skelter race to follow lightning axe chops. Willis can, and does, groove phat-fast or slip into the smooth and even echoes that Manring quirkiness when he feels the urge. Willis intros with an amazingly complex bass piece to open "Emancipation" where steel drum keys and harmonica EWI hail back to an upbeat Weather Report porch swing daze that fades away into . . . ahhh. ~ John W. Patterson

"The Book of Flame brings together the thorny mathematics of Michael Manring's tuning theories with his wide-ranging artistic vision, the unalloyed metal aggression of Thonk with the melodic and textural sensibilities of Drastic Measures, the icy austerity of electronica and the sensuality of Afro-Asian modes and rhythms. The resulting construction could collapse under its own weight if not for Michael's maturing compositional sense and his always-lurking sense of humor."Bass Player Magazine

Recording information: Tommy Tedesco Studio, Musicians Institute, Hollywood, C (05/1998-07/1998).

Personnel: Gary Willis (keyboards, fretted & fretless electric basses); Steve Tavaglione (soprano & tenor saxophones, clarinet, EWI); Bob Berg (tenor saxophone); Scott Kinsey (keyboards); Dennis Chambers, Kirk Covington (drums).

Personnel: Gary Willis (fretless bass); Steve Tavaglione, Bob Berg (tenor saxophone); Scott Kinsey (keyboards); Dennis Chambers, Kirk Covington (drums).

The Wire (1/99, p.62) - "...Fretless bass guy Willis pumps plenty of iron here...and in the more fractured moments..the sweat and adrenalin add up to enjoyment for hardheads...[It] has the sheen of adult inflight entertainment."