BUFFALO NEWS
1/18/01
Could the Joel Newton Situation be the first great jazz fusion band of the 21st century? In a word, yeah. This New York City-based quartet recalls the glory days of guitar-based fusion, a time when John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra wowed jazz and rock audiences, Jeff Beck was releasing masterpieces of the genre like "Wired" and "Blow by Blow" and Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs were beginning to make a name for themselves as the leading light in a new generation of harmonically intelligent bombast.
What makes Newton and his band different, though, is the fact that they employ the golden age of jazz fusion -- pronounced "the '70s," in case you were wondering -- as a starting point. Sure, you'll hear plenty of guitar-based action at Newton's shows, but you'll also hear a sort of "electro-techno" zeitgeist only slightly buried in the subtext, as its debut release, "One," makes plain.