[MRL 337] Hal Galper - The Guerilla Band

MRL 337
1973


Personnel:

Electric Piano - Hal Galper
Bass - Victor Gaskin
Drums - Charles Alias, Steve Haas
Engineer - Carmine Rubino
Guitar - Bob Mann
Saxophone [Soprano, Tenor] - Mike Brecker
Trumpet, Trumpet [Electric Trumpet], Flugelhorn - Randy Brecker



Tracks:

A1 Call (6:05)
A2 Figure Eight (7:37)
A3 Black Night (3:16)

B1 Welcome To My Dream (4:50)
B2 Rise And Fall (9:05)
B3 Point Of View (5:49)

Producer - Bob Shad
Engineer - Carmone Rubino


AMG Review
by Jim Todd

While not one of the classics of the jazz fusion movement of the early '70s, The Guerilla Band does attempt to say something substantial and avoids the genre's commercial pitfalls.

Leader Hal Galper, who went on to become an acoustic pianist of note, is heard here exclusively on electric piano. His highly electronically processed sound is unlike the playing of the Fender Rhodes' more representative players from this era, such as Joe Zawinul or George Duke.

Galper's band includes brothers Mike (saxophone) and Randy Brecker (trumpet), who at this time were gaining critical acclaim with their band Dreams.Dreams' guitarist Bob Mann is also on board. Session player and Cannonball Adderley alumnus Victor Gaskin is on electric bass. Steve Haas and Charles Alias team up for a double dose of drums.

Galper writes long, impressionistic lines that are played over busy, skittering, rhythms – imagine Miles Davis's In a Silent Way merged with a funky, Isley Brothers' track. This approach could work, but the drums generally create more clutter than groove, while Mann's scratchy playing often gets in the way of the music (it would have been interesting to hear this same band with a John Abercrombie or a John Scofield wailing over the top of these tracks).

Misgivings aside, this band produces a distinctive brand of jazz fusion that deserves a place in any thorough documentation of the genre's short-lived, peak creative years.

Dusty Groove review:

Electric piano genius from Hal Galper -- one of his best non-acoustic albums ever, and a set that's filled with moody colors and changes! The album's a fair bit more dynamic than some of Galper's other albums from the 70s -- with horns from the Brecker Brothers, guitar from Bob Mann, and tightly rhythmic work on the bottom that makes some of the best numbers hear all-out funky jams! There's a sharply angular feel to the record that's made it a favorite for beatheads for years -- plenty of tunes that are ripe for samples, even when things get slightly mellow -- and Galper's approach to the keys is really amazing, unlike any other player we can think of at the time! Titles include "Figure Eight", "Call", "Black Night", "Point of View", "Welcome To My Dream", and "Rise & Fall".