Short Reviews [Beledo - 2016 - "Dreamland Mechanism"]

Although Jose Pedro Beledo (electric guitar, violin, electric piano, synthesizer, piano, accordion, Spanish guitar, fretless bass, vocals) started recording solo albums in the Eighties, there were some significant gaps between those and his 2016 debut Moonjune release which was some 9 years on from his last one (although he can be found playing on albums with many other bands, some of which I have reviewed previously). One will note from the instruments listed that Beledo truly is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitars and violin, and consequently has used guests sparingly, but it is interesting to note this includes legends like Gary Husband and Lincoln Goines on the New York Sessions while he also recorded in Indonesia where none other than Dewa Budjana got involved. The result is an instrumental album which shows a musician very much at home in whatever genre he is playing, and this sounds like a seasoned band as opposed to session musicians who have come together just for the occasion. He has such a deft touch on piano as well as lightning-fast breaks on guitar that it is difficult to realise it is the same musician on both, while he skips through pure jazz into fusion and world music with ease. It is an album which takes the listener on a journey, never knowing what is going to come next and not needing to understand the destination. Take “Marilyn’s Escapade” for example, here he provides lead roles on accordion, piano, guitar and violin – who does that? All the time in the background there is the shuffle of Husband, who spent so many years with Holdsworth, and Goines with his warm and delicate basslines ensuring Beledo has the foundation to go off and create a masterpiece. This is an inviting album, one for the listener to sit down with headphones and really get inside the music and is a great introduction to the world of Beledo.