Molinari, Fernando: Reaching Inside

If you’re like me, discovering new music is exciting, exhilarating, and rewarding! I can’t tell you how many times I hear “there’s no good music anymore�. You have got to be kidding, there are great bands/artists out there creating. Brazilian bassist Fernando Molinari’s latest Reaching Inside is a wonderful piece of modern fusion, and had I known about this one prior to making my best of 2021 list, it would be on it.

Molinari has assembled a great group of players to showcase his musical vision. Drummer Marco Minnemann appears on 6 of the 8 tracks here and creates a powerful rhythm section. “Focus� opens the disc, a very melodic piece featuring the guitar work of Davi Filho, who also co-wrote this and a few others with Molinari. “Mercurio� gets heavy and intricate, but again I find a lot of melody, it’s not just showboating here, excellent songs. Filho also shows a speedier side to his playing in this track. The intro to “Hidden� has a King Crimson feel, and then suddenly becomes more atmospheric and spacey, with more tasty guitar work from Filho. I love the keyboard and bass interplay that opens “Internal Sun�, and the amazing guitar playing of Kit Tang. “Desert Flower� provides good contrast to the previous four tracks, with its Spanish flavor and use of acoustic guitar (Brunno Henrique) and piano (Daniel Felix). But, don’t think for a second that means mellow, drummer Arthur Rezende and Molinari blend nicely creating a complex foundation that drives the track. Molinari throws some monster runs and slapping during “Ocean Wind�. This one gets a little dark sounding, but again I am shaking my head, these guys are good, with Henrique providing more amazing playing. “Maybe Tomorrow� is about as laid back as it gets, but this one sticks with me, I love the clean guitar lines and melodic bass of Molinari. As we get to the last track, I can tell you Molinari is batting 7 for 7, and “Control� is a home run. They go out with a bang, funky, rocking, and intricate; there is a touch of metal when the keys and guitar start trading licks. This is how you end a CD, blowing people’s heads off.

The musicianship is top notch, and you get some amazing passages from all the instruments, but the songs connect. Well written and well played makes for a winning combination. I was so blown away, I went out and bought Molinari’s previous release from 2016. Yes, it’s great to grab those Return to Forever discs and give them a spin, but give these new artists a chance and you will see there is a load of talent out there.

Track Listing
1. Focus 05:24
2. Mercurio 04:38
3. Hidden 04:46
4. Internal Sun 05:12
5. Desert Flower 04:46
6. Ocean Wind 03:59
7. Maybe Tomorrow 02:25
8. Control 04:27

Added: January 8th 2022
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
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Language: english

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