Royce Campbell	Website:	www.RoyceCampbell.com
	Genre(s):	Progressive, Jazz, Fusion
	Instrument(s):	Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
	Trademark(s):	Progressive, diverse, classic rock influences
	Album(s):	Six By Six
	Collaborations:
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Six By Six is a compilation of jazz standards and originals orchestrated by jazz guitarist extraordinaire, Royce Campbell. This album arranges a tactful array of classic jazz standards from legendary jazz pioneers such as Cole Porter, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, as well as some complementary originals of Campbell's own devisement. Campell heads an all star lineup of fusion era jazz guitarists that he teams up and trades off with including John Abercrombie, Larry Coryell, Pat Martino, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Dave Stryker. Compositionally, the album is rooted in the classic, cool jazz, though stylistically the album strikes a balance between its classic jazz roots and guitar-centric fusion. (Though, it should be noted that the fusion is more from the earlier fusion era and refined end of the spectrum rather than the more aggressive, heavier or over-the-top fusion of more recent years.)

The album opens with Campbell and Coryell pairing up on the Campbell original, "Happy Blues". This track is a groove-based jam that is built loosely around some walking bass sections and funk rhythms that set the backdrop for Campbell and Coryell's fine soloing. This track strikes a great balance between the driven bass lines, catchy chordal phrasings, and tactful lead guitar components. Campbell and Coryell serve up an onslaught of tasty contrapuntal improvisation that is both focused and relentless yet unforced and unhurried. The arrangement is tempered with a sensible balancing of complementary sections that avoid redundancy and keep the music moving in new and interesting directions.

Perhaps the best track on this album and one of the finest interpretations I've heard to date (with all due respect to the original and landmark Davis / Adderly rendition from Somethin' Else), Campbell and Coryell again team up to tackle the Cole Porter standard, "Love For Sale". Campbell and Coryell impart a funk interpretation of the primary theme for "Love For Sale" that puts the entire piece into a new light. This new perspective becomes further apparent when the transitions to the secondary theme reveal the beauty and fragility of the secondary theme as interpreted on this track. The interpretation is well-conceived and though taken from a very unique angle, the duo pull it off with a grace and conviction that makes it sound natural and consistent with the general concept of the age-honored standard. Again the balance of thoughtful chord phrasings, savory selection of delicate voicings, and complementary lead phrasings is superb on this track, as it was on the first track that Campbell and Coryell laid down on this album. This track was the hands down favorite on the album for me. It demonstrates the versatility of standards and how a great musician's creativity and talent can be illuminated via their take on an old standard. This was truly an inspired session that pulls in the best qualities from the great musicians that put this one together.

On the third track, Campbell pairs up with Pat Martino to pay homage to the founder of the cool, Miles Davis, with their tribute to the Davis class "Milestones". Once again Campbell lays out a fantastic arrangement that works the themes, transitions, and grooves with a fusion of inspired contrapuntal improvisation, carefully voiced chord phrasings, purposeful bass lines, and tactful percussionry. The leadwork on this track deploys a good blend of funk riffing, contrapuntal lines and phrasings, speedy scales and sequences, and even some dueling lead guitar where the two trade and fuse complementary lines.

Campbell and Martino continue their romp through classic jazz this time taking it a notch slower, smoother, and deeper with the Coltrane classic, "Naima", though with no less passion than the previous track. It is striking to hear the level of conveyance of the content and intent of the original that the duo achieve on this effort with their guitar work. As with the previous tracks, Campbell maintains the same levels of artistry and conceptual integrity for the original.

The fifth track finds Campbell paired with Abercrombie on the Campbell original "Angular Blues" that stretches the classic jazz boundaries a little further in the direction of fusion with the intensive rhythms, fusionish harmonization, and more aggressive drive. The progression is reminiscent of Coltrane's "Giant Steps", as is some of the whole-tonish soloing, while other parts of the soloing bear some resemblance to Scott Henderson's less outlandish, fusionistic guitar work. The exploration of tonality and harmonization applied in the leadwork on this track will be of interest to the hardcore jazz and fusion fans. This boundary-stretching harmonization is pulled off in a very palpable manner that guitar jazz and fusion technicians should surely appreciate.

Abercrombie is featured again with Campbell in the ensuing track, another Campbell original, "Day Into Night". This arrangement is a slow jazz ballade that traverses a number of complicated changes that incorporate complex harmonization once again. This track is forged in the tradition of the early fusion style of cohesive arrangement that aims to present the listener with clear musical vision and direction that is built around jazz tonality and rich chordal harmonization. (i.e. Metheney)

Dave Stryker steps up to the plate on the next track to cover the Bill Evans arrangement, "Interplay". This track finds the pair of guitarists working off of the walking bass lines and constantly shifting rhythms set down by Bill Moring and Marcello Pellitteri. The guitar work on this track is a little less abstract than the preceding tracks, targeting the gut a little more than the intellect, though still preserving Campbell's savvy that is standard throughout this album. The well-felt leads provide a good shift, relief, and complementary balance to the assault on the listener's brain that the two previous tracks launched with their intensive harmonization and complicated leadwork.

Stryker and Campbell next cover the classic "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" with a fluid interpretation that exemplifies their command and depth of musicianship. This track incorporates superb mastery of technicianry, tone, balance of themes, counterpoint, interesting lines, boundary-stretching harmonization, tonality, and conveyance of well-conceived musical vision. The percussionry and bass on this track have a fusion feel though a respect for the cool jazz origins is maintained.

Campell next teams up with Bucky Pizarelli on the ninth track, "Darn that Dream". This track features some nicely formulated, soulful chord phrasings and voicings on this slow jazz ballade. Keeping with the mood and spirit of these warm, sentimental foundations, the lead work applies clean-toned, slow, melodic lines with enough interesting tonality to keep it interesting. Once again, Campbell bridges the gap between cool, classic jazz and fusion with a carefully balanced guitar-based interpretation that respects the integrity of the predecessors. The deeply felt melodic lines in this piece that are woven delicately with the fragile, sentimental progressions make this another favorite from this album, and perhaps the most beautiful arrangement on the album.

In speaking with jazz influenced guitarists, one of the main issues that guitarists struggle with in approaching the standards from the cool jazz era is the problem that guitarists face to get the sound out of the guitar that captures the nuances, voicings, and inflections of the original music that is articulated mostly with saxophones and trumpet. The guitar is inherently different in the sounds that can be produced than the sax and trumpet and many aspiring jazz guitarists struggle with maintaining the integrity of the original or earlier versions of the standards that was voiced with these wind instruments. (This is especially true when approaching masters of sound such as Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, and John Coltrane.) Campbell and company have done a superb job on this album of capturing the spirit, concept, and integrity of their predecessors while imparting their own spin that offers uniqueness that is not contrived but is instead clearly a natural manifestation of their own musical styles, vision, and perspectives. This aspect of Six By Six is perhaps one of the most noteworthy and should be of interest to serious jazz guitarists.

Overall, Six By Six is a well-conceived, well-executed, well-produced, and highly enjoyable album that should be of interest to fans of cool jazz, jazz guitar, and classic / standards oriented fusion. The album is deeply rooted in the philosophies and feel of the classic, cool jazz era and jazz standards tradition with some influences from later jazz guitar tributaries, such as early era smooth fusion. Considering this frame of reference, the application of the electric guitar that is done in such a dominating manner, gives this album a unique angle. Furthermore, the caliber of the musicians that are arrayed on this album, notable as it may be, is only surpassed by the quality of production, orchestration, and integrity that Campbell has imposed with his drive and comprehensive musical vision. The arrangements are carefully orchestrated to make each track memorable, illuminate the talents of the players, and to ensure the pitfalls of cliched or bad arrangement are avoided; the themes are worked in a digestible mannner; the improvisation explores one idea after the next without duplicating the same territory except for intentional effect; and the guitar work is mesmerizing throughout. I'm not sure if it could be said that this album breaks any new grounds territorially, though the style, integrity, and depth that Campbell and company have imparted to their interpretations to the venues of music covered surely are notable and worth a listen by fans of jazz guitar. (The originality in interpretations and musical vision is reminiscent of Django's great talent in this regard.) When jazz musicians attempt to make their mark and establish their signature by covering standards and classics, what is accomplished on this album is representative of what these musicians are generally trying to achieve. These factors together make this one of the top guitar jazz albums I've heard in recent years.

Copyright 2001 - 2006 Christopher Ruel. All Rights Reserved. www.ChrisRuel.com