Short Reviews [Phil Keaggy, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta - 2019 - "The Bucket List"]

I’m not going to bother saying who these guys are, or who they have played with, as if you don’t know then you probably shouldn’t be reading this review! The genesis of this collective can be traced back more than ten years ago when they first met in Woodstock and held an impromptu jam session which in turn led to a live show and a load of recorded improvised material. Every so often this was revisited and tweaked before being left again until 2018 when the time was deemed right to work through them, add a few more bits and pieces, bring in executive producer executive producer Paul Grimsland and pull together an album (which was released in January 2019). Tony and Jerry have worked together as a rhythm section for many years, so have an innate understanding as to how each other works, while it mustn’t be forgotten that Phil is two-time Grammy nominee as well as being receiving the GMA Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year no less than seven times. Levin has been a ground-breaking musician for many years and continues to be so with his work with Stick Men, and his ability to provide both lead melodies and support is probably second to none. This means that it is often down to Jerry to provide all the foundation as Tony weaves in-between, behind and in front of the melodies being created by Phil. Given that Phil has a more “normal” approach than Tony’s normal partner Markus Reuter, this must almost be relaxing for him! Intense, incredibly complex, this is a superb album from start to finish. The guys bounce off each other, using different styles to bring it together, and any fan of King Crimson, Stick Men or Trey Gunn will get a lot from this.