TRACK LIST:

1.  Infinite Realms of Light & Dark 6:25
2.  Amor Y Poder 5:39
3.  Heart & Mind United 4:24
4.  Dancing on the Edge of a Dream 4:39
5.  Degrees of Force 5:05
6.  Marirangwe 5:08
7.  Within the Circles 4:03
8.  Saudade 4:04
9.  Seafaring Soul 4:20
10. One Day As a Lion 4:31
11. Paths of the Warrior 4:51
12. Ouroboros 4:41
13. Tender Shadows 4:14
14. Prescient Visions 5:07

SOLO PILOT:

Gino Foti - basses, MIDI-bass; keyboards; sampling

With:

Dave Kuiju - guitar (3 / 1)
Chris Rossi - piano (5 / 6)

Analysis. Mr. Foti describes "Sphere of Influence" as all-instrumental music that blends several styles and genres - jazz-fusion, world music and progressive rock with classical, new age, experimental and avant-garde influences. I agree with that definition, but only with one reservation: I haven't discovered any avant-garde devices (e.g. dissonances, atonalities, counterpoint melodies) on the recording, neither those traditionally associated with Progressive Rock. No, I don't cast doubt on the progressiveness of this music - at least regarding the album's overall impression. I just establish the fact that none of the disc's fourteen tracks features a rock component, the matter being explained by the absence of drums in the picture which, in turn, is good rather than bad, taking into account it's a 'one-man ensemble' production. While being unable to manage a drum kit, Gino, thankfully, avoids deploying a drum machine either. Apart from playing bass, midi-bass and keyboards, the artist both actively and resourcefully utilizes several sampled sounds, those of mallet percussion (mainly congas) being an essential part of each of the pieces, save Tender Shadows. With two acoustic guitars and piano diversely interacting with each other throughout it, this is the sole track on the CD that belongs exclusively to European and, at the same time, Classical music. There are four more cuts here that I find to be excellent as well. Amor Y Poder and Paths of the Warrior are both built upon layers of acoustic guitar (some of which are performed in a classical way, some being Flamenco-inspired) and the bravely improvising bass, each of the cuts undergoing several distinct shifts before it is finished - on all levels. These two present the listener with a highly cohesive combination of symphonic, jazz and world music, the latter being certainly Spanish in its origin. Blending together jazz and folk tunes (this time around, Indian and African ones respectively), Degrees of Force and One Day As a Lion both perfectly suit my concept of progressive World Fusion, the latter revealing much more exotic sounds than the former. Filled with sounds of Chinese, Japanese (Koto) and Vietnamese (flute) traditional instruments, Infinite Realms of Light & Dark and Within the Circles both can also be regarded as excellent compositions, yet only as long as they are viewed within their genre category, namely World Music. There are too few even quasi improvisations on each to speak of any stylistic confluences. Contrary to these, Heart & Mind United, Seafaring Soul and Paths of the Warrior all appear with no vivid ethnic colors in their palettes, being rich in jazz ingredients instead, each standing out for its remarkable piano and bass work. Well, the music is not classic Jazz-Fusion, but nevertheless it is definitely related to that genre. Next in turn are tunes most of which I would have omitted if I were in Gino's place. Saudade is the best of these and would've been named among the previously described tracks had it been at least half as diverse as those, whilst in reality this is just nice jazz-tinged New Age. The 'marimba'-laden Marirangwe strongly resembles the aforementioned One Day As a Lion in sound and style alike, but lacks pace changes, quickly getting me bored. The only one track featuring sampled drums, Prescient Visions, turns out to be overloaded with these, to put it mildly. However, it is the remaining two cuts that are really disappointing. These are Dancing on the Edge of a Dream and Ouroboros, each sounding derivative without being influenced by anyone's work. The contradiction is explained very simply: both are moulded on some of the most orthodox musical styles whose iron-cast laws are nearly inviolable. Time is not a healer regarding memory, so I am already unable to determine whether the former is Samba or Rumba, but is certainly one of these. I can suppose the latter was initially designed as a kind of benefit performance for Gino's bass, but the result is groovy, repetitive Funk. Nonetheless, I find "Sphere of Influence" to be a good effort overall (its good and excellent pieces running for more than 40 minutes), the truly significant matters that prevent me from considering it an excellent album being as follows. First: Gino Foti's main strength, namely his ability to creatively blend elements from several musical disciplines into his compositions, is not obvious on all of the tracks present, even some of the best ones included. Second: Since bass and keyboards are the only real instruments used, the music never has a sound that would resemble a genuine ensemble playing - even at its most saturated moments. Otherwise the album would've been on a par with most of those by Ancient Future (whose leadership in the field of progressive World Fusion is beyond doubt, IMHO). In such cases, I see no other way to conclude an article otherwise than as follows. Recommended to those who like the idea running all through the review.

2006 - "Orbis Terrarum"
(66 min, 'Net Dot')