After four albums for RCA Victor featuring a mix of jazz covers and originals, acoustic guitar duets, and tributes to jazz icons Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus, legendary guitarist Andy Summers goes independent with his Golden Wire label and returns to his own original jazz-rock fusion compositions, tapping into his Police and early solo sensibilities as well as some new sounds he picked up along the way.
While the euphoric “Above the World” recalls “Begin the Day” from the 1984 Andy Summers/Robert Fripp album Bewitched and the title track smacks favorably of Summers’ Police instrumentals, numbers like “Now I’m Free” and “Return” show Summers at the height of his jazz phrasing powers with smooth and seamless beauty and fluidity.
The stellar lineup of musicians backing Summers on this outing includes Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Abraham Laboriel on bass, John Beasley and John Novello on keyboards, and Katisse Buckingham on saxophone.
This is one of Summers’ best albums and stands firmly alongside his finest work, including his Private Music catalog, Synaesthesia, and Triboluminescence.
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