Sometimes, a very specific component of music triggers a subjective reaction that prohibits full enjoyment, whatever the merits of the whole. The kind of thing I'm talking about here is where one says of a band, "I'd like them fine if I could just stand the guy's voice." Many have no problem with this hypothetical voice-- some may even like it-- but for you, the voice provokes a visceral reaction that can only be overcome with great effort, if at all. Such is the case for my reaction to Gregg Bendian's Interzone, but this being instrumental music, it's not the voice I can't stand. It's the jazz fusion guitar.

The guitar in question belongs to Nels Cline. Now, don't get me wrong. I can separate my gut reaction from my critical faculties enough to tell you that Nels Cline is a fine guitar player, picking his way up and down these complex scales with copious technique and sufficient melodic innovation. He's definitely holding his own with the best of yesteryear's fusion axe-men, the John McLaughlins and Pat Methenys of the world. But I can't hear the jazz tradition in Cline's guitar improvisations; all I can hear is a noodly sound that rubs me the wrong way, like bad Frank Zappa or the Grateful Dead's "Space." Fusion guitar solos just don't do it for me.

So, Cline's guitarwork aside, how is the rest of Gregg Bendian's Interzone? Quite good, actually. This is noir-ish jazz led by Bendian's clarion work on the vibraphone and glockenspiel, and backed by the energetic, driving rhythm section of bassist Steuart Liebig and drummer Alex Cline. Some comparisons could be made to John Zorn's more accessible work like "Spillane." And anyone who can imagine a rocked-up version of the Modern Jazz Quartet can picture what Myriad sounds like. "Intrepid" is the highlight here, with Bendian's melodic riffs being pushed into all the right places by Cline and Liebig. The appropriately titled "Drive" is similar-- it experiments even further with stop/start tempo shifts and punctuated vibe riffs.

Less interesting are the drawn out, moody drone pieces like "Diaspora" and "Sanctuary" (a John McLaughlin composition) where the intros can last up to two minutes before the tempos shift at all. But on balance, this is tasteful, accomplished vibe-driven music that should appeal to fans of the Chicago instrumental scene willing to take the full jazz plunge. But don't say I didn't warn you about the guitar.

-Mark Richard-San