Paul Chester, Ted Wenglinski, and
Dave Nichols continue from an earlier
Stratus lineup. They add David Caceres on saxes and
Todd Harrison on drums. Well, this is a jazzier, less fusion-feel
Stratus, but by no means any less enjoyable. There's still that wonderful Chester guitar tone and style. Think
Scott Henderson,
Frank Gambale, and
Mike Stern. Wenglinski is keyed up in a great way. Nichols' bass work is easily in the top 100 in the U.S., IMHO. Caceres' sax work is straight-up jazz and faultless. Harrison can hang tight on the drums in every flow the piece needs. Gone is that
Pekka Pohjola feel to this CD. What you have here is more that
Steps Ahead thing with no vibes or predominant sax work, but Chester is pulling it all toward that Mike "Sterno" Stern or
Scott Henderson bluesy-jazz sound. Nine of the fourteen tracks are written by Chester. This release leans toward the mainstream, commercially accessible fusion. However, the title track, "Iconoclast," is more that hard-edged, driving, Henderson or
Adam Holzman kind of in-your-face-knocking-you-down, jazz-rockin' fusion. Nichols slows things down stretchin' some in a
Gary Willis moment before the finale detonates. Track one "Halfway to Heaven" by Nichols was a great opening piece reminding of their
Hyperbole release. "Hurricane," "Party Every Sunday," and "Labor Day" each sounded almost exactly like
Tribal Tech pieces. This is great jazz fusion happening here. Again
Stratus delivers sharp-edged, slick, fired-up tunes.