John Favicchia World Time CD

It's so easy to appreciate the playful sort of combustible human interaction on a project like drummer John Favicchia's World Time, a roaring indie release which proves that a studio date can easily capture the buoyant craziness of a hot club show. Favicchia and his core trio of Bob Malach (sax), Bob Gallo (guitar) and pianist Brian Charette run amok on peppy tunes which call to mind some of the artsy, jazzy, post-pop work of the Yellowjackets, as well as the hooky Latin jazz fusion sounds of Spyro Gyra. Malach and Gallo trade off lead melodies most of the time, but Favicchia takes control more often than most drummers do on albums bearing their names, allowing himself space for some aggressive, odd metered fills. While his bandmates do the lion's share of the writing, it's a tribute to Favicchia's melodic instincts that his own Latin hurricane Kukuc is every bit as memorable as Cedar Walton's "Black." Not that it mars the brilliance of this debut, but the closing title track, a percussion and drum duet, would work better as a coda than a full length piece. ~ Jonathan Widran