Search - Marc Johnson :: Right Brain Patrol

Quiet and Relaxing

Russell Diederich | Littleton, CO United States | 06/06/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Right Brain Patrol is an experience in fusion jazz. The album is filled with wordless vocal harmonies, and the playing takes on the same airy quality. Led by Marc Johnson on bass with Ben Monder on guitar and Arto Tancboyaciyan on percussion this band sounds very good together. The album takes on a very spatial feeling. The tracks are not filled with massive amounts of notes. Often times, the music is so quiet that you might find yourself checking that the disc is still playing. Too quiet sometimes. There are a few standout tracks on this album. My favorite is the blues sounding "Netcong On My Mind". The title track, "They Love Me From Fifteen Feet Away", "Heru Nazel" and "After You" are the tracks I really pay attention to. Johnson takes to the spotlight with the song "Batuki Burundi" which is just shy of four-minutes of solo bass work. An interesting track is "You" where Arto substitutes his drums for what sounds like water-filled pots, which carries over into "After You" where Johnson joins in with a great bass melody. On "Log O' Rhythm" we find Arto banging on a...well, a log with Johnson's quiet bass on top. "Heru Nazel" has a very Al DiMeola sound to it. Overall, this is a decent album. The sound quality is a little too quiet for me, and I end up either turning up the stereo too high only to get blasted out by the louder parts, or I'm straining to hear the quieter portions of the music (the majority of it is quiet). There are not enough songs that capture my attention to listen to this album very often. It is good for quiet and relaxed moods."

The Jam Band Revolution Starts Here

JC | 09/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This unknown album from an unknown trio is one of the the best ensemble works to come out of the Nineties. It's mellow, groovin', jammin', authentic Latin, African, Indian and Carribean beats, and lacking all pretense of new-age world jazz. This is the stuff that started Jam Bands. If you like Pat Metheny's smooth synthesizers or the ethnic jazz rock fusion of John Maclauglin, this is NOT your style. If you like Phish, Jazz Mandolin Project, Rusted Root, The Flecktones, or MMW, this is the early jazz link you've always known existed. Just listen to You and After You. This is such an awsome work. Grab it!"

You Gotta Hear It

JC | MD USA | 01/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Can't say I really agree with either of the other reviews here (though I certainly agree with elements of them).



This is a very thoughtful work that displays an extraordinary range of sound, nuance and feeling. It is actually one of the best sounding discs I've heard (I thought it was a Japanese import until I carefully inspected it). It's a little quiet, but warm, and the quiet is essential to provide a palatte for the range of play and emotion within the effort. There are some pretty spirited songs, as well as solo pieces and more ambient balladry.



This is probably the best I've heard Marc Johnson (and I'd probably say the same for Ben Monder too, though his live work with Guillermo Klein, which is quite different than this, is also excellent).



This is not fiery fusion, nor jam band stuff. It's extremely thoughtful and diverse trio work (of somewhat unorthodox instrumentation or style, since it's far from the pedestrian jazz trio stuff that proliferates). Apparently there's a lot in here that appeals to very different interests."