When you learn that Joan Torres All Is Fused is a jazz band, the reason why that ‘all is fused’ in the name becomes much easier to understand, and if you pick up (randomly or not) the band’s latest album Embrace From, a release the band intended to be some sort of a celebration of 10 years of playing together, things become much clearer.
Yes, basis Joan Torres and the rest of the band (Jonathan Suazo: Alto Sax, Gabriel Vicéns: Guitar, Sergio González: Guitar, Emanuel Rivera: Piano and Keyboards, and Fernando García: Drums and percussion) play jazz fusion, a sub-genre for which fans of jazz (and music in general) have no middle ground – they either love it or hate it.
There are, of course, exceptions, for artists who worked within jazz fusion, and those are the ones who tried to make a good balance within their music – the balance that would not sacrifice improvisation and that jazz feel and musicality to technical virtuosity, many jazz fusion artists tend to lose themselves in.
That balance is exactly where Joan Torres and his crew come in here, working from the base of their Latin jazz background, they exhibit a high level of musicianship skills but strike a delicate balance adding an intricate feel for music and emotion and controlled improvisational elements.
That is exactly the sound that can appeal to a much wider musical audience than just the die-hard jazz fusion fans, and Joan Torres All Is Fused creates that sound on this album.
