Fontanelle — Vitamin F

Fontanelle's latest "Vitamin F" is an LP of Bitches Brew-esque dissonant space jazz fusion, with a more melodic and structured approach than Miles utilized, evidenced by repetitious harmonized legato lines that are almost substantial enough to be called 'head' melodies.  Shuffling jam rock rhythms serve as a reference point for honks, skronks and noodlings from the trumpet, saxophone and electric piano.

Haunting, moonlit chords from the horns recall the celestial tonalities of Sun Ra and Eric Dolphy, the extended improvised passages bring to mind various krautrock bands, and I even hear echoes of the most spaced out, wide open moments of The Legendary Pink Dots, who often enough include a saxophone in their music, though never classifiable as jazz.  Both the tones of the instruments and the recording fidelity are completely vintage and analog.  There is little to indicate this album was not recorded in the 70's.

There are some very tasty solos from all involved.  The guitarist leans in the direction of bluesy shred, and one of my favorite moments of the album is when he unleashes a spiral of arpeggios through heavy wah effects at the end of "When the Fire Hits the Forest", a track which shows the band experimenting with feedback and more harshly distorted instrument tones.

The trumpet player's style is generally bolder and louder than the other members, and his fiery passion is very much appreciated by me.  I sensed the music threatening to drag into a complacent sluggishness on a couple of occasions, and each time it was saved by a spirited entrance from the trumpet.  The saxophone player also finally lets loose in a particularly powerful moment at the end of  "Ataxia" with abrasive, hoarse bleats that last nearly 30 seconds.

The growling, fuzzed out electric bass lends a gritty rock feel to the record, at times sounding like a guitar, as when sharing a unison lead with the keyboardist in the bluesy stoner rock of "Traumaturge".  Many of the later tracks are dominated by juicy, groovy stoner rock riffs, so the overall distribution of jazz and rock influences is nicely balanced.  The closer "Reassimilated" has a consonant chord structure and droning simplicity that borders on post rock, further rounding out the diversity of the recording.

This is an incredibly chilled out record that goes down easy, but also has enough raw feeling and groove to give it staying power.  Though this a very retro recording, with nothing to indicate that it was not created 40 years ago.  It doesn't quite live up to the greats to which it pays homage, but the musicians involved display such passion, taste and intelligence with their musical choices that I am mesmerized throughout the entire duration of the album.  I recommend "Vitamin F" to any fans of this style.