EGO

Alex Argento, for those of you who don't know, is an Italian keyboardist and composer. In recent years, he has worked with many of the most talented musicians in the world ranging from Virgil Donati and Simon Philips to Marco Sfolgi and the Citriniti brothers.
In 2007 Alex released his first solo fusion album titled Ego and once again surrounded himself with some of the best players in the business. Ego consists of Marco Sfolgi (James Labrie) on guitar and Stefano Ruscica on drums. Guest guitar soloists include Fabrizio Leo, Alessandro Benvenuti, Vittorio Falanga with John Reshard and Andrea Casali handling bass duties on a few tracks.
Every so often an album crosses my path that grabs a hold of me and doesn't let go. Put simply, this is just that album. Ego seamlessly encompasses the funky grooves of Greg Howe, the jazzy chord changes of Tribal Tech and the heavy backdrop and meter shifts of Planet X to create something that exists within its own niche of the fusion world. Everything that drove me to appreciate this type of music is here and in great form. The songs on Ego can be placed into roughly two categories using the above influences as a reference; the heavier, Planet X like songs and the slightly mellower and groovy Frank Gambale and Tribal Tech based songs. This makes for really good balance as opposed to just sticking to one style over the other.
As a musician, I have grown rather tired of listening to other musicians create music with no feeling that reflects nothing more than how fast or how complex they can play. Not that there is anything wrong with this but, I have found that I almost always go back to the music that ventures into organic, not mechanical, complexity. Ego is the perfect example of complex music with purpose. Every meter shift and chord change is there for a reason. Nothing is out of place or forced on here. Though there is a lot of improvisation by Marco and Alex, what is best for the song is always kept in mind.
It's very difficult to describe music with words and this is no exception. All I can emphasize is that Ego is modern fusion at its best. If you have any interest at all in this genre or the groups mentioned before than don't pass this up. This is one of the best albums I have heard all year and it just keeps getting better with each listen. Highly recommended!
演奏:
键盘 - Alex Argento
吉他 - Marco Sfogli
鼓 - Stefano Ruscica
客串独奏吉他手 - Fabrizio Leo, Alessandro Benvenuti, Vittorio Falanga
客串贝斯手 - John Reshard, Andrea Casali

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