Achilleas Diamantis Confusion

A surprising mixture of the obvious Hellenic influences, and some highly innovative soloing pushes Achilleas Diamantis' particularly individualistic blend of jazz funk along at a comfortable rate of knots, without ever really threatening to get too exciting, but it's entertaining enough in its own way. The unexpected interjections of Diamantis' acidic guitar phrasing that pierces the silky synth muzak plasm saves a lot of the album from qualifying as a Super Mario Gameboy soundtrack - a fate only reserved for Jan Hammer jingles - "Zorba the Sleek" you might say. Some cool Hammond action from Stratos Diamantis with probably unintentional Woody Woodpecker quotes, Takis Paterelis' sax blowing and some heavier Garbarek/Rites-like backbeat programming conjure a variety of contexts for the axe-man to strut his stuff. A sincere offering from Athens that should muster a fair amount of recognition for an album that works hard to keep its head above muzak mediocrity.