Hines, David: Inner Duality

Through the years, the music world has been exposed to many fabulous bass players such as Jaco Pastorius, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Les Claypool, Cliff Burton, Pino Palladino, John Paul Jones, well, you get the picture. There is a lot of talent out there and one of the best is David Hines who has just released his latest album Inner Duality, which should be a real treat for fans of jazz fusion. His previous effort, Nebula, garnered very positive reviews and I would be surprised if his latest does not do the same. I have to say the man's skills on the 4 and 5 string fretted and fretless bass are extraordinary. He wields the bass like that of the best axe slingers firing off lightning fast bass lines with what seems like ease. However, this is not a one man band as Hines has help from Steve Hunt (piano, keyboards, Hammond organ, percussion programming) and Pete McCann (guitars). Special mention should also go to Hunt's keyboarding skills. He can play with the best of them and on Inner Duality is playing is often front and center as he is given space to rip some excellent solos. Although the music is quite complex and there is a lot of instrumental prowess on display, I never got the feeling the band was showing off. All of the solos fit in nicely within the arrangements of the songs and never seem out of place.

The album begins with the jazz fusion of "Funk Harbor" where Hines funky bass lines, Hunt's keyboards and McCann's guitar absolutely rip it up, but never at the expense of a good melody. In the progressive jazz of "Stinger", washes of keyboards start before drums kick in and a mind blowing keyboard solo ensues followed by an equally impressive bass solo. There is a nice mixture of frenetic and more serene parts. In the wistful "In My Dream, Again" up front bass and swirls of cello and violin paint a picture of melancholy before the pace quickens only to end the dreamy way it began. The funk inflected jazz of "Awe" features the excellent soprano sax of Bill Vint with more bass pyrotechnics from Hines and just in case we forgot what a great job Michaud does with his drum kit there is the short "Sons Of Thunder" featuring only drums. One of the album's best songs is the progressive title track where the synths and keys carry a darker tone and Eastern sounds also enter the fold.

Intense, melodic and virtuosic are just a few words to describe this record. If you are interested in instrumental jazz fusion this is the album to get and comes highly recommended by this reviewer.

Track Listing:
1. Funk Harbor (5:56)
2. Stinger (5:56)
3. Kinesis (5:56)
4. In My Dream, Again (3:54)
5. Awe (5:27)
6. Sons Of Thunder (1:24)
7. Hinesite (5:10)
8. Inner Duality (6:56)
9. Floating Dinosaurs (4:47)
10. Leaf (7:54)

Added: May 21st 2010
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2610
Language: english

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