Electric Blue

Album Review

Jazz has given us some impressive violinists over the years (everyone from Joe Venuti, Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith to Jean-Luc Ponty and John Blake), but compared to saxophonists, trumpeters and pianists, violinists have been a very small minority in the jazz world. One of the few fusion violinists who came along in the 1990s, Joe Deninzon showed considerable promise on Electric Blue. This unpredictable jazz-rock effort demonstrated that while the Russian-born improviser had studied the history of jazz violin extensively, he refused to be shackled by that history. Though Ponty is a strong influence on Deninzon, it's obvious that he has also spent a lot of time listening to rock guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Steve Vai. Deninzon can be lyrical and charming, or he can be a forceful, in-your-face player who brings elements of hard rock guitar (distortion, feedback) to the electric violin. A musical rollercoaster, Electric Blue ranges from the poetic ("Oasis," "An Evening Nap in the Afternoon Sun") to the metallic ("Shock Therapy," "Bluzak"). The violinist's own compositions dominate the CD, although he also provides an unusually rock-influenced version of Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't." Deninzon takes his share of chances on Electric Blue, and they pay off handsomely.