Guitarist Rik Wright displays a grooving stride along his recording Subtle Energy that is attractive and instantly entrancing. His voice stands out in the tracks as James DeJoie’s clarinet, Geoff Harper’s bass, and Greg Campbell’s drums add glittering fringes around the guitar verses, making for five multi-faceted tracks.
The introspective phrasing of DeJoie’s clarinet along the title track is laden with organic impulses that emanate an unscripted voicing. The freestyle doodles display spontaneity and a keen sense of harmony that complements the reverberating ringlets carved out by Wright’s guitar. “Yearning” has an inclination to be reflective as DeJoie’s clarinet pulses softly in a dimly lit backdrop of ruminating drumbeats.
The glinting guitar chords court an optimistic glow through “Patience” as the silky ripples of DeJoie’s clarinet showers the number in reams of elegance. Bowing guitar notes meander with a flair for the imaginative as the clarinet creates shimmering boughs across “Butterfly Effect,” turning dulcet and wispy through “Nonchalant.”
Wright and his band demonstrate a kinetic rapport that treads the line between jazz-based freestyle and rock band vigor, alternating between solo performances and jam-session style congruency. Transitioning between wispy mists and vigorous reverberations, Wright’s guitar work is multi-dimensional as he pens penetrative narratives that hypnotize the mind while massaging the aural senses.
Musicians:
Rik Wright – guitar, James DeJoie – clarinet, Geoff Harper – bass, Greg Campbell – drums
Tracklisting:
“Butterfly Effect,” “Subtle Energy,” “Yearning,” “Nonchalant,” “Patience”