Search - Slava Grigoryan :: Another Night in London

Pleasant crossover album

David | Melbourne, Australia | 10/05/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Slava Grigoryan's varied musical upbringing is no more no more apparent than on this album, in which the guitar virtuoso places himself in a more pop/fusion setting, recording with drums, bass and even vocal, as well as solo pieces that showcase his obvious technical ability on classical guitar.What makes or breaks this album is the selection of tracks - the solo pieces written by Grigoryan's friend Bill Lovelady, a set of Incantations and a suite entitled 'Sounds of Rain' are melodic and intricate, and they lend a classical credibility to a CD that is otherwise populated by riff-tunes (penned by Grigoryan and bassist Al Slaavik) which could be labelled 'smooth jazz'. Ultimately, for the hard-core jazz listener, these smooth tunes are somewhat light, and probably lack substance for the earnest classical listener. Grigoryan is a very accomplished classical performer with quite a good degree of jazz talent as well, but the material here is not the best showcase of either."