record collection revisited: Niacin "Deep" & "High Bias"

Yours truly is quickly becoming enamored with the jazz fusion power trio, Niacin.  These guys were previewed oh, about a month ago, completely on a whim, when I found one of their concerts on YouTube.  Just received two of their albums as gifts for Christmas.  1998's "High Bias", and 2000's, "Deep".  These two recordings are musical odysseys into the netherworld of jazz fusion, but, with a unique power trio featuring Hammond B3, bass, and drums.  John Novello is on B3 and Rhodes piano, Billy Sheehan is on bass, and Dennis Chambers is on drums,

They are similar to their fellow jam band circuit pioneers Medeski, Martin & Wood, albeit, much more apt to compose tunes that while jam worthy, are crafted very much in the true sense of jazz.  Each player is rock solid.  There's no guitar in this power trio.  It's all about Novello's B3 which is actually a custom built model that is in a case, rather than being the full fledged Hammond B3 with a cherry wood cabinet that so commonly graces concert stages, and if kept in the right condition, could also be a piece of furniture in addition to being a musical instrument.

Novello favors solid state (transistor) equipped Leslie speakers, rather than the more traditional vacuum tube models.  This allows him to obtain that classic whirligig sound and unique attack and decay that the B3 is known for, but, to do so at much higher volumes, almost like a guitarist who runs through either a large transistor or vacuum tube amplifier.  Sheehan's bass playing is funky, jazzy, and adventurous all at once.  He is someone who plays the bass truly as a lead instrument, and is right in the pocket with the B3, while Dennis Chambers on the drums, holds the grooves together with a hard hitting, and yet precise style.

Their albums are sonically adventurous even though, being a trio, there is a lot of space between the instruments, which in a lot of cases, helps.  There's no clutter here.  Novello also plays piano (both grand piano and Rhodes electric piano).  On 2000s, "Deep" album, it's just the trio doing most of the songs.  But, on "High Bias", they have five guest artists, two of which, are jazz legends.  Chick Corea plays Rhodes on one number, and Weather Report percussionist Alex Acuna, is also featured on a tune.

The other guests on "High Bias" are drummers Rayford Griffin, Pat Torpey, and Kenwood Dennard who fill in for Chambers.  Perhaps it was arranged this way, to include several different drummers.  The music is a true listener's experience.  Niacin was popular during the 1990s and 2000s.  By now, maybe their popularity has waned just slightly.  But, they're still a name worth looking up for fans of fusion jazz which has it's roots in the '90s new fusion scene, after the pioneers like Return To Forever, Weather Report, Passport, or Mahavishnu Orchestra, came along.

On the final track of "Deep", there are two guest musicians, too.  The track is called "Bluesion" and features Glenn Hughes on vocals, and Steve Lukather on guitar.  Hughes was bassist and vocalist for the funk rock band Trapeze, and also played in the third and fourth iterations of Deep Purple.  Additionally, he was in a short lived band in 1968 called Finders Keepers, who released a single that year called "Sadie The Cleaning Lady".

Hughes fronted funk rock pioneering band Trapeze between 1970 and '74.  He fronted Deep Purple between 1974 and 1982.  He's also worked with Thin Lizzy's guitarist Gary Moore, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and numerous others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Hughes#With_Finders_Keepers

Here are the respective track listings for both "Deep", and "High Bias".

Niacin: "High Bias" 1998

1. High Bias
2. Birdland (feat. Alex Acuna: percussion, & vocal samples by Take Six)
3. Slapped Silly
4. Montuno (feat. Alex Acuna: percussion)
5. Revenge
6. Cool to the Touch
7. Darkside
8. It's The Little Things
9. Soul Diversion (feat. Rayford Griffin: drums)
10. Who Cares if it's Raining (feat. Pat Torpey: drums)
11. Hang Me Upside Down (feat. Kenwood Dennard: drums, & Chick Corea: Fender Rhodes)

Niacin: "Deep" 2000

1. Swing Swang Swung
2. Best Laid Plans
3. Sugar Blues
4. Stompin' Ground
5. Blue Mondo
6. Panic Button
7. Bootleg Jeans
8. Mean Streets
9. This One's Called...
10. Klunkified
11. Ratta McQue
12. Things Ain't Like They Used To Be (feat. Glenn Hughes: vocals, & Steve Lukather: guitar)
13. Bluesion