Stone Alliance toured Europe extensively in the '70s as one of the most unheralded jazz acts of that decade. In the 2000s, group bassist
Gene Perla began releasing the recordings on his P.M. Records label.
Live in Amsterdam, recorded in 1977 and digitally remastered and released in 2004, is a must-have for jazz fusion aficionados. All songs are original compositions that appeared either on previous
Stone Alliance studio albums or
Stone Alliance saxophonist
Steve Grossman's solo albums. This particular live performance is an all-out assault.
Grossman's solos have been described as animalistic due to their ferocity, drummer
Don Alias plays so furiously he seems on the verge of turning his drumkit into sawdust. From "Miss T" to the hyper version of "Zulu Stomp," it's one assault after another. Meanwhile,
Perla lays down health-code violation funk on the renditions of "Risa" and "Arfonk." Even when they're not in attack mode ("Aunt Remus"), the bombs feel like they're just around the corner.