VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE / John Heidt

Fans of Denny Jiosa’s elegant smooth jazz recordings are in for a shock with his new trio effort. Jiosa, bassist Jon von Boehm, and drummer John Toomey crank up the volume with efforts solidly rooted in rock, blues, and jazz. The stylistic sidestep is evident immediately on the in-your-face opener,”Dynamite,” with its heavier tone, very aggressive attack, pinched harmonics, and plain old volume. That said, Jiosa still proves to be an incredibly melodic player. On most of the record, the musical hooks stand out and stay with you. Funk and rock dominate “Blue Line to Largo,” with jabbing 9th chords and stinging harmonics. Jiosa also fills a middle section with some straight rock and blues riffing before heading back to the funk. “Night Train to Marakesh” is an evocative piece with slinky, sitar-like guitar. Anyone familiar with his past work won’t be surprised to hear the immediately memorable ballad “Redemption,” which is more Jeff Beck than smooth jazz. A solo over a string section adds melodic flavor. “Spytime” is a straight-ahead boogie that gives Jiosa room to show off his nasty side with surprisingly tough chord changes and deft tremolo bar work. Every cut except “Afraid of the Dark” is an instrumental. On the soul/pop cut, Jiosa’s vocal is pleasant enough, but it’s his melodic, bluesy solo that dominates the song. Whether it’s a stylistic move to escape a genre that appears to be sinking slowly or a move toward what he wants to do doesn’t matter. Jiosa and his trio have fashioned a record that has great songs and skillful guitar playing aplenty.