---

Coryell / Coster / Smith Cause and Effect (Tone Center/Shrapnel, 1998)

Cause and Effect, an early Tone Center release after the popularity of Vital Tech Tones, featured longtime fusion guitarist Larry Coryell with Vital Information bandmates Tom Coster (organ) and Steve Smith (drums). Coster and Smith had recently toured with a more traditional fusion lineup of Vital Information, captured on the live record "Where We Come From" (1999), while Coryell would later enlist Smith to fill the drum seat on the studio reunion CD of his classic 60s fusion band with saxophonist Steve Marcus, "Count's Jam Band Reunion" (Tone Center, 2001). Following the now-common Tone Center formula, Cause and Effect put these talented fusion musicians together for a week to write and record a studio album. This format of songwriting usually ends up producing extended jams rather than detailed compositions, understandable given the time frame, and then the studio recording captures the interaction of the musicians without a live audience.

Cause and Effect displays a wide range of fusion styles, from up-tempo solid-body guitar jams like "Miss Guided Missiles" to mellow hollow-body guitar vamps like "First Things First;" funky grooves like "Bubba" and syncopated stomps like "These Are Odd Times." The melodic bop of "Wrong is Right" and the clean guitar swing of "First Things First" firmly establish the jazz roots of this ensemble. "Miss Guided Missiles" shreds with an extended guitar solo before a bouncy organ vamp, and "Night Visitors Revisited" snaps with a heavy groove that sounds a lot like the first Gambale/Hamm/Smith Tone Center record, before fading out after barely two minutes. The title track is a rare organ tune without guitar, but it runs less than one minute. The record ends in another blend of traditional jazz guitar and heavy leads, with Coryell's melody in clean octaves giving way to a grainy fuzz lead on "Finale: Wes and Jimi."

Smith's drum work as always is rock heavy and jazz subtle at the same time, and Coster's organ lays down fat chords while spending less time in the forefront in this trio format. With guest bassist Vic Wooten on "These Are Odd Times" (taking a predictably fast and boring bass solo) and session bassist Benny Reitveld on three other tracks, Coster covers the other basslines with the left hand. This reduces him to supporting chord work in the upper register, draining the organ/guitar balance found in the tracks with bass. Coryell's guitar dominates the mood with equal skill in clean hollow-body jazz tone or nimble cutting lead runs.

Cause and Effect is a solid hour of studio fusion jams, but with the flood of all-star studio jam records from Tone Center and other labels, Cause and Effect only stands out from the pack in the true fusion credentials of its players, compared to the 80s metal shredders like ony MacAlpine and Greg Howe that Tone Center is now passing off as fusion guitarists. The relatively tame spark from studio writing and playing can't compare to Coster and Smith jamming on old Vital Information, or Smith in the drummer's chair for Coryell and Marcus on "Count's Jam Band Reunion," where the songs and the musicians' interactions were honed by their respective bands for decades.

Reviewed by Scott Andrews [scottandrews@his.com]

More Info:
http://www.shrapnelrecords.com/

Line-up:
Larry Coryell: Guitar
Tom Coster: Organ
Steve Smith: Drums
Benny Reitveld: Bass on Tracks 2, 6, and 10.
Vic Wooten: Bass on Track 1

Track Listing:
1. These Are Odd Times
2. Plankton
3. Wrong Is Right
4. Bubba
5. Cause And Effect
6. Nightvisitors
7. Miss Guided Missile
8. First Things First
9. Night Visitors Revisited
10. Finale: Wes And Jimi