Tag: Caroline Bonnett

Review – Nick Fletcher – A Longing For Home – by John Wenlock-Smith

In 1975, which was a momentous year for music, The late John Miles wrote, “Music was my first love and it will be my last, music of the future and music of the past”. Later on John lamented that in this world of troubles my music pulls me through. These are sentiments that I guess many heartily agree with, I certainly do, and I would imagine that Nick Fletcher would too, especially based on conversations that I’ve had with him. Whilst he might not live for music, being the family man that he is, there is little doubt that music through creating, producing and performing, plays a major part in his own life.

Of course, if we’re were talking about him in the 1970’s, Nick would be heralded as a major guitar hero and would invariably be highly rated amongst his peers. Sadly those days for guitarists are possibly over now.  The irony is that, in Nick, you have a consummate talent who really deserves a bigger platform and reach that an independent release fails to offer him. Certainly, talent like Nick’s is rare and should be valued and recognised far more.

His new album, ‘A Longing For Home’, is a prime case of this. His last album, ‘Quadrivium’, was spectacular enough but this one takes the bar and lifts it up even higher, making this an album that will be the envy of many guitarists around the world. With its staggering displays of virtuosity, speed runs and flights of finger work, Nick most definitely makes that fretboard scorch and burn, as he does here amongst this albums ten tracks.

The album is the last part of a trilogy of albums made up of ‘The Cloud Of Unknowing’, ‘Quadrivium’ and now ‘A Longing For Home’, which concludes the trilogy through the genre of  progressive jazz/rock fusion. On this release Nick explores the connections between science, religion and spirituality and how that relates to each of us as individuals.

The album begins with the excellent Satori which has a busy rhythm section plowing a mighty furrow and giving Nick a platform on which to solo furiously, an opportunity he makes the most of! The backing is spot on and you can sense that this is a field in which Nick excels and feels very comfortable indeed. The subtle keyboard work of Caroline Bonnett underpins everything with grace and aplomb and the groove reminds me of Spyrogyra at times, except Nick’s take on fusion is more fiery and less jazz-lite than Spyrogya’s ever was. The Secret Of The Ascent introduces Norwegian Jan Gunnar Hoff to proceedings and he is phenomenal here, helping create a background wash of keyboards that helps move the track along briskly and yet retaining its musical charm and integrity. Joy Turning Into Sorrow is a delicate classical guitar piece (Nick also has a fine pedigree in this realm having written and performed many solo classical guitar performances over the past 25 years or so). The Final keyboard notes of this piece lead us into the wonderfully evocative track Sitting In The Sunboat, which is a longer track in which Nick solos extensively and with style. Whilst his soloing is fiery, it is never at the expense of either melody of emotion, being both stylish and  warm. The piano solo in the middle of the song also impresses greatly,

Even more impressive (if that’s possible) is the simply gorgeous Her Eyes Of Azure Blue, which Nick says called for a different approach from him. It has a very lyrical style and a features a fretless bass solo from Jonathon Ihlenfeld Cuniado which fits extremely well with the overall sound that the track conveys. Nick is most definitely a team player here, graciously sharing the platform with his fellow musicians and this helps and actually enhances the music that he makes. This shows that music is a collaborative effort and has a very symbiotic quality in which every one’s effort are rewarding to the listener. This track and its predecessor are the highlights of the album for me as together they convey the skill and vision employed here by all the participants. Whilst Nick’s name adorns the cover, it would not have the same depth of emotion without the help of Anika Nilles, Jonathan, Caroline and Jan’s presence and significant musical input. Anika’s drumming shows why Jeff Beck wanted her in his last band, her performances here are thundering, powerful but ultimately tasteful.

The next piece, A Pathway To The Hermitage, has a light, almost joyful, tone and title track A Longing For Home follows with a suitably cosmic and atmospheric sound which evokes the vastness of space, just how small and alone we are as a planet and how we are almost insignificant in the greater cosmos and universe. Nick’s guitar is laden with reverb and echo to help convey this vastness. With shades of David Gilmour on display here, this track is another winner! As is The Sage, The Monk and The Scholar, which is, to be truthful, a storming rocker of a track with a powerful riff and afiery guitar throughout. An epic guitar solo and a superb organ section help maintain the intensity of the track, one which rocks ferociously and is, unsurprisingly, another winner.

The penultimate piece is Crossing The Sacred Threshold which sees the return of the melody from The Secret Of The Ascent. This is a lovely touch and brings a sense of unity to proceedings in that we are reaching towards a conclusion of sorts. The album closes with the only vocalised track on the album, To Hear The Angels Sing. It has beautiful wordless vocalisations from Olga Karpova (Dikajee) whose presence brings a classy end to proceedings. Olga is a classically trained Opera singer and it shows here as she vocalises over a shimmering wash of sounds and textures from Nick’s elegant guitar. There are no keyboards or other instruments on show here and this is a peaceful final conclusion to the album and is very ethereal sounding indeed.

This album is without a doubt one of the first instrumental albums of the year with hints of some of the jazz fusion greats, Al Di Moela, Alan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny, John Mclaughlin and many others. Please don’t let this wonderful and terrific album slip by you otherwise you will definitely regret it!

Released 21st October, 2024.

Order direct from Nick’s website here:

https://www.nickfletcherguitarmusic.com/product-page/nick-fletcher-a-longing-for-home-cd

Review – Nick Fletcher – Quadrivium – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘Quadrivium’ is the latest solo release from Sheffield based, highly acclaimed guitarist, Nick Fletcher who, as anyone who has seen him can testify, is a very accomplished player who can not only shred with the best of them but is also a player of taste and style. So, it is with little wonder that even Steve Hackett regards him very highly, possibly sensing a kindred spirit and, finding in Nick, a musician who strives to be the best he can be, whatever the situation in which he is found.

Well this album is particularly fine, it is entirely instrumental and it is very fusion focused. Within its tracks you can find many references and nods to those gods of fusion, from Al Di Meola, Alan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny and, of course, Jeff Beck, to point out the obvious ones. There are also a whole slew of others that Nick has drawn upon in his style and playing and this is all put together perfectly into a melting pot with this album emerging as the result. This release is a musical journey that demands listening to as a whole, you need to clear fifty-five minutes in your schedule and settle down to enjoy this masterful slice of fusion pie. It is also an album that uses lots of atmosphere and nuances to punctuate is dreamy sound, in between the bluster there are gentle moments of almost serenity occurring, this gives the album an even pace and allows individual contribution to shine, like the excellent bass work of Tim Harries who is there at every turn, propelling or  pushing the bear along as needed. His sympathetic playing adds greatly to the overall dynamics and sound, he also provides a solid platform for Nick’s fiery guitar flights of expression and frees him to really soar,

This is fusion for today with nods to the past but generally forging ahead in new directions and pathways, it is extremely musically strong and focused. I doubt if you will hear another fusion album that burns this hot, it is almost incendiary such is the firepower contained within its grooves, this is blistering in its intensity and depth of vision. Now, if fusion doesn’t usually grab you then, don’t worry as this is more than just fusion, it has great rock sections as well and some truly jaw dropping guitar playing, enough to make you sit up and even to put away your own guitar in envy. The album has eleven tracks ranging from the very brief Ziggurat Of Dreams Parts One & Two to the longer tracks like Aphelion and The Journey To Varanasi, the songs changing in style, often within the same track.

Nick is aided by several of his good friends like Dave Bainbridge and the aforementioned Tim Harries, who provide excellent keyboard and bass support. On the drums Nick has enlisted Anika Nilles (who was previously in Jeff Beck’s last band and is also a drum teacher and has her own band as well). She is very much an up and coming fusion star in the making and adds strong syncopation and delicacy along with the powerhouse drive as required. Anika is like a young Billy Cobham in style at times, in short, she is a truly exceptional talent and really makes her mark here.

The album has a theme as Nick is very interested in philosophy and especially the works of the Greek masters, Plato, Aristotle and the like. This record is based on Plato’s four noble arts, these being mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy.  Well, the music relates to either mathematics, geometry or astronomy and the whole album is music, the fun is spotting which track relates to which! There  is a lot of fun to be had by doing that, so I won’t actually tell you and leave you to find out for yourself but look at the track titles for clues. The use of Google might be of use in this task, at least you will learn something new in the process.

I always feel that, for me personally, knowing and understanding the background to a music piece aids my enjoyment and enriches it significantly. Not for nothing is the maxim that knowledge is power quoted. However, don’t let the concepts behind the music stop you from listening to this extremely masterfully delivered release, instead let knowledge lead you onwards in your journey from the inner soul to the edges of the universe, life and beyond, onwards into eternity. A very entertaining and illuminating concept for certain but also a very worthy one for our modern age.

There are so many highlights on this album from the gentle introduction of A Wave On The Ocean Of Eternity that had me in mind of Beck’s The Final Peace, with its emotive guitar lines. The Indian styled The Journey To Varanasi has some very heavy guitar parts featured prominently, in all it is a very rewarding listen and does bear repeated listening thereafter as it has many depths to be uncovered as you absorb the music fully. I also appreciate that this album ends as it begins, delicately as the circle is completed.

This album is really rather a revelation in sound as it sounds absolutely gorgeous and is extremely well recorded and produced, with a full and clear production that allows room for everything to be clearly heard. There is excellent definition with good separation between the instruments, alongside which you have really great sympathetic and skilled performances from everyone that all combines to make this an astonishing musical accomplishment. Kudos must also be given to Nicks co-producer Caroline Bonnett who aids him in this crafting so diligently and adds some fine keyboard work too.

‘Quadrivium’ is an absolute stormer of an album, most impressive and very highly recommended and is my fusion album of the year so far. There is so much to discover, to embrace and to enjoy in this mighty fine stew.

Released 15th September, 2023.

Order the album from the artist’s website here:

ONLINE STORE | Nick Fletcher Guitar (nickfletcherguitarmusic.com)