Adam Nitti - 2001 "Evidence"

Adam Nitti's 3rd album release. High energy instrumental music. Futuristic fusion of jazz, funk, and rock with lots of variety. Appealing to both music listeners and players, alike. Features Dave Weckl (drums), Jeff Sipe (drums), Tom Knight (drums), Forrest Robinson (drums), Dwayne Holloway (drums), Shane Theriot (guitars), Bill Hart (guitars), Steve Cunningham (guitars), J Nitti (programming), DeSean (vocals), Colette C.C. Coward (keys), Randy Hoexter (keys), Ike Stubblefield (Hammond B3), Phil Davis (keys).

Adam Nitti's third solo cd Evidence, has him showing a continual growth as a composer, this cd has some excellent fusion material from the start to finish. If you are not aware of who Adam Nitti is, he is a phenomenally gifted bassist, that has adapted his style from some other well known heavy hitters on the bass, here are some he mentions at his website: John Patitucci, Marcus Miller, Dominique di Piazza, John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Gary Willis, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Oteil Burbridge, Les Claypool. I would certainly add to this list the likes of Alain Caron, & Stu Hamm, purely for their virtuosity on the bass. Adam surely is one of the exceptionally gifted players that I have heard, and he also has a knack for writing the type of songs that showcase his abilities at their utmost potential, without sounding like a bass players cd. Not one to dwell in the predictability of funk, or the garden varieties of bass dominated fusion cliches, Nitti takes full advantage of the impressive collective of talent he enlists to join him for Evidence. His songs are very catchy, yet have a constant complexity that goes beyond fusion, the word progressive would have to be considered a large element to his overall sound. There are a couple of songs that are straight ahead funk jams, with some great soloing by guitarist Theriot, and it's back to the hard fusion again! The proficiency of Nitti's bass skills are outstanding, he flows through the many demanding styles and meter changes with great command of his instrument, when he does take a solo spot, his tone and flawless technique really impress. To conclude, this cd is very enjoyable to most anyone that likes great music of any kind, especially hard fusion, there are no loosely constructed, improv tunes, or overly played solo spots. Also I wanted to make a special mention of the recording quality of this cd, hearing this at mid volumes on my system really brought me to full attention, crisp, and punchy, with every instrument recorded evenly and at the optimum level, I could only wish all my music was this well produced and engineered.

Never heard of the guy, but accidentally was pointed to him on one of the sites and boy what a find. You could hear elements of Weather Report at times, Uzeb at other times, both extremely welcome, although certainly with his own music. His bass playing is superb, but so are other people, most notably the drummer (super drummer, I should add). If you like jazz rock or fusion - this CD will not leave you with buyers' remorse, quite the contrary. Hopefully Adam will continue in the same direction, since there are so few these days that truly address this genre of music.

In searching for new unique music a few years ago I discovered Adam Nitti at an MP3 site. He is a bass player of incredible ability but he adds to that the ability to compose music that is so creative, so high energy (great for workouts) without the discordance of fusion (or at least it's tastefully done) and so beautiful and captivating it makes the heart swell. He is the Beethoven of jazz/fusion and I love Beethoven. His first CD Liquid Blue isn't listed here but is definitely a must have. My only disappoints are that I haven't found anyone like him since and he hasn't come out with a new cd in quite a while.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Adam+Nitti

Track listing:

01     Millenium     5:45
02     Nine-Eleven     5:57
03     Truth     5:39
04     Evidence     5:40
05     Oasis     7:24
06     The Divine Wind     6:31
07     Puddin'     5:32
08     On Wings Like Eagles     6:15
09     Swamp Diddy     6:10
10     Broken, Pt. 1     2:53
11     Broken, Pt. 2     8:14

Personnel:

Adam Nitti - Basses
Shane Theriot - Guitar-1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9
Jeff Snipe - Apt Q258 - Drums-5,7,9
Dave Weckl - Drums-2,6
Ike Stubblefield - Hammond B-3-7,8
Bill Hart - Guitar-11
Randy Hoexter - Keyboards-6,9
Dwayne Holliday - Drums-3,4
Tom Knight - Drums-1
Forrest Robinson - Drums-11
Sam Skelton - Sax, flute-2,5,6,
Phil Davis - Keyboards-4,7
Colette Coward - Piano-11
Desean - Vocals-3
Steve Cunningham - Lap Steel Guitar-3