Robben Ford - Schizophonic (2011)

01. Miss Miss - 6:34
02. Ladies' Choice - 6:30
03. Hawk's Theme - 6:22
04. Low Ride - 2:26
05. Stella And Frenchie - 8:03
06. Softly Rolling - 7:27

Personnel:
- Robben Ford - guitar, saxophone
- Paul Nagle - keyboards
- Stanley Poplin - bass
- Jim Baum – drums

This is one of the jazz records I like most, turning back to it often. The lineup is almost perfect: bass, drums, fender rhodes keyboards and Robben Ford on the guitar, with the exception of the first and last number where he switches to the alto sax. It results a mellow yet intense sound which characterizes and unifies the album. The succession of the numbers fits the title. The first is a mid-tempo swing: the theme is quietly presented, a brief electric piano solo follows and then the sax gradually raises the tension, screams, and then goes back to silence. The second number is a gloomy, slow swing in three where the long guitar solo is intertwined by keyboards interventions. Then the mood changes; the next piece raises the tension with a mid-tempo funky rhythm, accelerates to a climax and then calms down, ending with an intense, layered guitar solo. The next piece is a sort of slight reprise of the previous one, opened by a great yet extremely simple attack. The fifth piece changes again the pace as it is a latin beat, possibly the most leisured moment of the whole record. The close is a ballad, actually a free form dialogue between the keyboards and a delayed saxofone, softly leading the listener to the natural conclusion of the album. The work is a snapshot of a young, creative artist in a state of grace, where everything - sound, composition, variety - just works. It is a shiny little gem that keeps on fascinating me after all these years. So perfectly beautiful that I cannot even think to listen to anything else Robben Ford has produced. ---Pietro Braione, amazon.com

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