Anabolic Live at the Ale House

For a live recording, this certainly sounds like studio quality. Things open up with a Scofield tune, "Wabash," that is a funky thang with Lost Tribe-like wild sax by David Caceres, and Stratus' usual superb execution. Track two, "Jail Bait," is a fine crunchy, jazz-rockin' Tribal Tech-ish piece. "Guardian Angels" mellows you in that Weather Report way. Next up, "Just Add Water," a Chick Corea's Elektric Band-sounding song, with room for Caceres to stretch in a very Brecker/Steps Ahead mood with Paul Chester doin' that Mike Stern/Scott Henderson/Frank Gambale soloing. "Anabolic" is a Jaco Pastorius Weather Report 8:30 joy to boogie to and get your jerky, jive, funky chicken shuffle thang a-goin'. An ice-rink/baseball park organ backup croons while axeman Chester tears it up. Up jumps Ted Wenglinski on wild, phat keys, and David Nichols drops down the tempo so Todd Harrison can slay some drum. "Mudbug Meditations" relaxes things on down, and Wenglinski does a very Rob Mullins-meets-Peanuts swingin' extended solo in the baby grand/Fender Rhodes voice. Chester, as expected, pulls out the stops in his signature style screamin' tone. Blues, jazz, no, fusion, no blues, oh forget it: it's soul food on 120 volts AC. Caceres' sax rounds it all out, crossin' Brecker with a touch of Courtney Pine cool. Nichols is at his heartfelt best again, calling to mind Gary Willis. Jazz is this: room to stretch. Stratus encores and finishes with "Iconoclast" and simply explodes. Chester wails and generates that spine-tinglin', goosebumps attack. Wenglinski is flat-out cosmic-creepy in his synth solo with a ton of whole tonal oddities. Nichols does Pastorius-like machine-gun burst bass burps throughout, right into the wolf whistle finale. ~ John W. Patterson, Rovi