Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Parisian Thoroughfare - Philip Catherine, Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band
3. Premonition
4. Point of No Return - Allan Holdsworth, Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band
5. Back in the 60's - Philip Catherine, Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band
6. Without Regrets
7. Celtic Steps
8. Desert Crossing
9. Last Memories of Her
10. Acatama Experience
11. On My Way to Bombay
12. Still in Love - Philip Catherine, Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band
13. Euphoria
14. To and Fro

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105620 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

The Master Returns
What a great album by Jean Luc Ponty. This is typical Ponty music at it's best, perhaps lost some of its aggresiveness, but very melodic. The great Alan Holdsworth features on track 4 - Point of no return and it's a shame he doesn't feature on any more tracks. Still there are 3 other tracks featuring Philip Catherine as compensation but not a patch on Holdsworth. Hope to catch the group at the Jazz Cafe in September, his only UK appearance!

A Familiar but Welcome Experience
Jean-Luc Ponty has been my favourite musician for many years, and I always look forward to his new releases with great anticipation. He brings a certain uniqueness to jazz violin as well as a level of performance no other player can quite achieve, and the warmth and texture of his compositions are forever joyful, uplifting and reassuring.

His first new studio album since the start of the decade, while offering little in the way of new ground or anything to rival his wondrous 76-83 period, nevertheless demonstrates how tightly this particular incarnation of the band has grown through years of live performing. The overriding African feel of the ensemble persists, as it has now done through numerous albums and line-ups, tying the music strongly to its authentic jazz roots and facilitating a rhythmic freedom while avoiding a mere groove-powered sound.

The themes are as protean as ever, with titles too good to not have been thought of before the actual pieces were put together (though I always thought it was the Atacama Desert, not Acatama?). As usual with Ponty, the names of the tracks are almost as appealing as the tunes themselves: have a look at the list and you'll see what I mean.

Two guest guitarists feature to add that extra little dimension: first up is the great Philip Catherine, an old sparring partner from JLP's formative years who makes a welcome return on three of the pieces and gives a good account of himself. Then there's the even greater Allan Holdsworth albeit only one one track, which is a great pity as there's no experience on earth quite like a Ponty-Holdsworth collaboration in full flow.

All in all, a familiar but nonetheless welcome experience, and either a worthy addition to an existing JLP collection or else good enough place to start.

J.L.Ponty-Acatama Experience
A sonic journey with the usual Ponty magic and for guitar fans some great
playing by Phil Catherine and the amazing Allan Holdsworth.