There is an old expression regarding professional skills that says, in effect, those who can, do; those who can't, teach. In the field of music, that has sometimes been known to be true, but in many cases, the most respected performers are the ones most in demand as teachers. And some do follow the calling, spending at least part of their time teaching, and for many with musical skills which might be less commercial, such as classical music or even jazz, teaching can be a real supplement to the one's income.

All this comes up in connection with this week's CD, a recording by a rock and fusion guitarist who spends most of his time teaching at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, sometimes known as the Julliard of Jazz and rock. The CD is by Julien Kasper, actually the Julien Kasper Band, called The New Imperial.

Julien Kasper was born in France to American parents. He came from a military family, he so moved around in the country, mainly in the South, as his father was transferred from city to city. Kasper took up guitar at age eight, and was mostly self taught, but started jazz lessons at age 18. He began performing in Texas and Florida, where his reputation began to grow. He moved to Boston to take up the teaching position at Berklee. He also performed extensively, touring in the US and Europe with blues keyboard man Bruce Katz, and recorded a two CDs with the Bruce Katz Band. Kasper released his own first album called Flipping Time in 2003. Now he is out with a band effort, The New Imperial.

One of the popular courses Kasper teaches is on the performance styles of Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. And one can hear a bit of that influence in his playing on the new CD, though there are also hints of the styles of Allan Holdsworth, Robben Ford, Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs and Eric Johnson. But the mixture of ingredients is enough to give this CD a distinctive sound. Kasper is definitely an electric guitar man, with most of the tracks concentrating on a fuzz or distorted sound, even a couple of solo guitar piece which would seem better candidates for acoustic guitar.

Kasper is joined by his regular three-piece band, with drummer Zac Casher and bassist Blendi Dhami. They are supplemented on most of the album by keyboard man Ken Clark, who is often heard on Hammond organ. Lefteris Kordis is also heard on keyboards.

The style is a mix of jazz-rock fusion and some funk, blues and straight-out rock. The music is all-original by Kasper, though drummer Casher contributes to the writing of two of the tracks. Like many such instrumental albums by rock guitarists, the tunes have good energy and rhythmic grooves, but do tend to fall short on melody. There's nary a tune one could come away humming. But the playing is outstanding, and Kasper's fusion of guitar styles makes for engaging listening, especially for guitar fans. Kasper says that the CD was recorded largely live in the studio without any extensive overdubbing.

Leading off is a piece called The JB Groove, with the "JB" standing for James Brown. Ken Clark's Hammon B-3 organ is prominent, but after the groove is set up, Kasper gets off more into rock territory for his solo. <<>>

The CD has three solo electric guitar pieces, the first of which is called Promise. Though there is some fancy picking involved, they all come off as sounding a bit unstructured and would have been more edifying on acoustic guitar. <<>>

That piece, by the way, serves as an intro to one of the stronger rock tracks 8 to 11, with some riffs vaguely reminiscent of Robben Ford or Eric Johnson. The playing is first-rate, and Kasper's solo work takes flight in this kind of musical context. <<>>

Much more laid-back is a track called All of the Years. Kasper's expertise that goes into his teaching the music and style of Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix can be heard among the influences that go into the piece. <<>

A bit more toward fusion is Sister, which shows the harmonic complexity of the music of guitarist Allan Holdsworth. To add to the jazziness, bassist Blendi Dhami is heard on acoustic bass. The track works well, and shows Kasper's subtlety as a player, even with very electric guitar sounds. <<>>

Probably the most musically interesting piece is Jacket Full of Bees, which alternates between a sinister-sounding fusion section, and a more cheerful, vaguely funky portion. <<>>

Kasper's time playing with blues organist Bruce Katz is felt on the CD's title track The New Imperial, with Ken Clark's Hammond organ featured prominently. <<>>

The CD's longest piece is one called Zulie which is a microcosm of the album, lots of great playing but not particularly strong in the melodic line department. <<>>

The New Imperial, the worthy new CD by the Julien Kasper Band is most likely to appeal to rock guitar fans, though it has enough going for it to allow it to find a wider audience. There is a lot of great playing, the band is tight, and there is a fair amount of stylistic versatility and eclecticism. But there is a bit of a shortage of tunes on the album you can come away humming to yourself. The guitar sounds are also a bit homogeneous, and acoustic guitar is conspicuously missing from the album. As a rock guitar album it's at the top of the heap, with both classy playing by all involved, a very good energy level and sense of coherence from the band, who after all were recording live in the studio together.

Our grade for sound quality it an "A minus." The CD is generally well recorded, and the mix has everything in the right proportions. It was done on now-old-fashioned 24-track analogue tape, and the fact that it was recorded mostly live does give the performance a more authentic quality. But it seems to lack a bit of the airy quality that even good rock albums have. The dynamic range is in keeping with the CD's rock direction, and thus not very wide.

I suppose with Julien Kasper being the teacher he is, that The New Imperial could be a good lesson in various rock guitar techniques. But even for those who have never picked up the instrument, it's a enjoyable album that combines outstanding playing with a strong rock spirit.

(c) Copyright 2006 George D. Graham. All rights reseved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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