The Acatama Experience

The Acatama Experience
Studio album by Jean-Luc Ponty
Released May 8, 2007
Genre Jazz, jazz fusion, world fusion
Label Koch
Producer Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty chronology

Jean-Luc Ponty in Concert
(2003)		 The Acatama Experience
(2007)

The Acatama Experience is an album by the French jazz-fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 2007. It reached number 24 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart, Ponty's first charting album since Live at Chene Park in 1996. It is his first studio album in six years since Life Enigma.[1]

The album personnel consists of Ponty's regular touring band with guest appearances by the guitarists Allan Holdsworth (on track 4) and Philip Catherine (on tracks 2, 5 and 12).

The title refers to the Atacama Desert on the Pacific coast of South America. In the first edition of the album, the name Acatama was used by mistake.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
All About Jazz (favorable)[1]
Allmusic [2]

Critical reception for The Acatama Experience was generally favorable. Michael G. Nastos states in his Allmusic review, "Considering Ponty's most recent work, rife with world or Afrocentric mishmashes or even further back mired in dense, overwashed electronic synth muck, this recording is not only a welcome change of pace, but a return to the great music that made Ponty an important figure in contemporary music. This one is recommended with no hesitation, and is the brilliant violinist's best effort in nearly 30 years."[2] In his All About Jazz review, John Kelman called it "...a welcome return to form. Thoroughly engaging, it possesses the enduring compositional depth and unmistakable solo acumen that's kept Ponty's name alive, even during years when he's been away from the public eye."[1]

Track listing

All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Intro" – 0:15
  2. "Parisian Thoroughfare" (Bud Powell) – 4:39
  3. "Premonition" – 3:43
  4. "Point of No Return" – 6:45
  5. "Back in the 60's" – 4:03
  6. "Without Regrets" – 4:29
  7. "Celtic Steps" – 5:52
  8. "Desert Crossing" – 3:03
  9. "Last Memories of Her" – 5:21
  10. "The Acatama" – 2:01
  11. "On My Way to Bombay" – 4:32
  12. "Still in Love" – 5:07
  13. "Euphoria" (William Lecomte) – 4:49
  14. "To and Fro" – 4:21

Personnel

Production notes:

Year Chart Position
2007 Billboard Top Jazz Albums 24

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 All About Jazz review by John Kelman.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nastos, Michael G.. The Acatama Experience at AllMusic