Review of Frank Gambale : Natural High
Jazz great's 2005 release.

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Frank Gambale has been an exceptional sideman with many fusion greats. He excelled with Jean-Luc Ponty, (tour only) Chick Corea Elektric Band, and Vital Information. He also is amazing on many 'All-Star' collaborations on Tone Center such as the Gambale/Hamm/Smith and MVP recordings. He makes a great case for being the greatest fusion guitar sideman of all time. He also is, in my opinion, one of the greatest fusion guitarists period and deserves to be placed into the lineage that includes the likes of Mclaughlin, Dimeola and Holdsworth.
The problem, for me, has been with his solo recordings. You never know what you're going to get with Gambale. His early recordings paled compared to the Elektric Band, "The Great Explorers" sounded like Satriani at times, but he has branched out from those early CD's. His compositional style has vastly improved and lately he has penned many a great fusion song. Frank has always been amazing live and his early live CD, entitled "Frank Gambale:Live" was the best thing he had done on his own. Frank released this 2CD set a couple of years ago and ,like on the previous live recording, Frank unleashes all of his guitar wizardry. Both discs don't emphasize composition, instead this is live fusion and the trios grab the ball and run with it.
The formula is simple. The band starts out the tune and then Frank demonstrates his ability to mesmerize and all of the songs turn into extended jams. There are covers; such as Coltrane's "Equinox" and Grolnick's "Nothing Personal" both of which are incredible. The members of the rhythm sections are given opportunities to shine and there are also moments of interplay that are great. The disc also features various Gambale originals. All of these songs also become extended jams are there is even a live version of a song from the first Gambale/Hamm/Smith Cd.('Lydia's Love Van") The various trios are comprised of musicians that aren't household names to most fusion fans. They are all very good musicians and although they don't blow me away, they are more than solid and very entertaining. They do seem to inspire Mr. Gambale and he seems to play at greater heights as the songs evolve. Frank goes beyond his typical amazing self and enters new levels of inspiration. The disc does contain a rerelease of the Gambale original "New Boots". This song isn't live and was originally on the then unavailable "Truth In Shredding" Cd.
The whole purpose of these 2 discs are for the listener to hear Frank unleashed. This release is all about the virtuostic displays of Gambale and there are plenty of them. If you like fusion jamming then these discs were made with you in mind and you'll love this. There are also moments of interplay between Frank and his rhythm sections that make jazz/fusion the genre that it is. Gambale fans should pick this up and won't be dissapointed. If you don't own any Gambale, try this one out. I haven't heard a solo release by him that is any better.