Gary Willis - Larger Than Life (2015)

Gary Willis, one of the world's leading bassists, has delivered his fifth album Larger Than Life-a delicious collection of fusion-funk for the twenty-first century. Joining Willis on this set of twelve tracks are Gergo Borlai on drums, long-time Tribal Tech band mate Scott Kinsey on keyboards, Steve Tavaglione on saxes and EWI, Claudia Bardag¡ on voice and Llibert Fortuny on tenor sax and voice. At the core of Larger Than Life is the trio of Willis, Borlai and Kinsey. Willis and Kinsey have had a great rapport going back to Tribal Tech, the fusion juggernaut that Willis co-led with guitarist Scott Henderson, and Willis' albums No Sweat (1996) and Bent (1998). The album's accompanying artwork, by Brazilian artist Rafael Sarmento, binds the tracks together in a kind of fantastic visual and aural universe. 'In working with Rafael, what I'd like to do is push people toward listening with their imagination,' Willis explains. 'Hopefully, my music inspires some kind of other awareness or consciousness-another world to escape to. ' Indeed, for seventy-plus minutes, Larger Than Life does just that. --