01. Fairweather Green
02. No Time Flat
03. On Fire
04. Portrait
05. Like This
06. High Falutin Blues
07. Gambashwari
08. Dinosaur Dance
09. Teaser
10. A Little Mouse Music
11. Maybe Next Time
A jazz fusion supergroup comprising bassist John Pattatucci, keyboardist T Lavitz, drummer Dave Weckl, electric violinist Jerry Goodman, and guitarists Frank Gambale and Steve Morse. School of the Arts throws everything into the pot:
jazz, rock, blues, country, Latin, and classical, but this wide-ranging eclecticism works remarkably well. This is due primarily to the staggering technical expertise of the musicians involved. While there's no shortage of chops (as amply demonstrated on the solo passages on the tunes "On Fire" and "Fairweather Green," for example), there's also an impressive interplay and sympathy, making
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS a fusion lover's dream come true.
~ cduniverse.com Cutting-edge compositions, beautiful sinuous melodies, and massive chops make School of the Arts (SOTA) a truly rare confluence of influences and musical styles, pushing jazz and jazz-fusion into another dimension...
...Despite the obvious and some might say inevitable chops heard on this record, the high level of musicianship never detracts from the overall flow of the compositions. In fact, the record has a ring of newfound freedom; of a songwriter allowed to spread his compositional wings, which recalls the artistic creativity and motivation that drove Lavitz to create his 1986 solo debut, Storytime - an album produced in the wake of a Dregs' breakup. "I am very excited about this, because not only did I get to write the bulk of the music, but I produced, played and played only acoustic," says Lavitz. "While it has elements from other recordings I've done, it seems, at least to me, to stand out as being very different." ~ allaboutjazz.com
