Lothar Kosse - Shekina
Shekina
Kosse is always melodic but certainly knows how to shred in the right places ... it seems he couldn’t find a wrong note if he tried.
Shekina
Lothar Kosse
Praize Republic Records
11 tracks / 57:23
Here’s a short quiz for all of you fans of soaring jazz/rock music by Christian bands: what album features a stunning guitar virtuoso, a much sought after legendary bass player, and a drummer that used to play with Frank Zappa? This year there are two correct answers. If you guessed Deep Water by Cosmic Cathedral, you’d be right – but if you guessed Shekina by Lothar Kosse you’d also be right! A name that’s relatively unknown here in the US, Lothar is a celebrated German Christian worship leader, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A successful collaborator with other artists, Kosse is recognized in his native Germany for many original songs as well as being a sought-after producer. Keeping that in mind, it becomes easier to see how he assembled such world-class sidemen as the bass legend himself, Abraham Laboriel (if the name sounds familiar, his namesake son is Paul McCartney’s drummer of choice) and drummer extraordinaire Vinnie Colaiuta, who’s played with everyone from Joni Mitchell to Frank Zappa – and that covers a lot of musical territory!
All of the songs are written, arranged and produced by Kosse (with the exception of a certain JS Bach getting writing credit for “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”). The sound is beautifully clean and uncompressed; every instrument getting a chance to breathe and claim its soundscape. Along with the basic trio of Kosse on guitar and piano and Laboriel and Colaiuta on bass and drums respectively, the wonderful Matthias Heimlicher adds organ and keyboards on several tracks. The one track featuring an alternate rhythm section is “The World Through Your Eyes,” featuring Daniel Jakobi and Marc Ebermann performing drums and bass, respectively. Sharp-eyed Iona fans will notice that Frank van Essen lent his special touch to the strings on “Song of The Father.”
This is an instrumental album, and the real star of the music is Lothar Kosse’s stunning electric guitar work. Recalling (to me, at least) players like Jeff Beck and Larry Carlton, Kosse is always melodic but certainly knows how to shred in the right places. The tone is clean and his style is a handbook of technique, with lots of hammer-ons and deft finger work up and down the fret board. There are times where it seems he couldn’t find a wrong note if he tried.
Starting off with the title track, “Shekina” is a deliberately-paced, sparse piece with beautiful, fluid guitar lines. “First” is second (apologies to Abbott and Costello’s who’s on first routine) and is a funkier song, which opens and closes with a brief flurry of drums from Colaiuta. Guitar and bass share some delicious riffs as they create the repeating motif that sets up the melodic center of the composition. A piano intro sets up “The Secret Wave,” a ballad that sound like something you might expect from the band Focus – certainly good musical company! The mid-temp steamer “On Eagles Wings” sets up a funky riff and stays jazzy throughout. “Joyswing” is a barnburner of a track: Colaiuta’s drums keep the pace crisp and full of momentum, Laboriel’s bass is pumping away constantly just under the surface, occasionally emerging to join Kosse in a furious riff. Pay special attention to the way Colaiuta teases the rhythm near the end – it’s a treat.
At (almost) the half-way point in the album we get the calm after the storm with “All About You,” which is introduced by piano, builds slowly to an emotional peak thanks to superb guitar riffs and a subtle organ adding some gravitas. “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” is appropriately stately and reverent, introduced by piano, melodically decorated by guitar, and embellished by strings. A bit more rhythmic, “Morning Star” has a moderate tempo, more stellar guitar work, and allows Laboriel to stretch a bit and give us some of his trademark soloing. “Three For One” packs a real punch with a strong rhythmic feel and a great riff leading into the wildest guitar work on the project.
Shekina closes with a pair of strong ballads – “Song of The Father” and “The World Through Your Eyes.” These are tracks more about melody than about soloing, but the performances are strong – even evoking, at moments, the smoothness of Beck and the fluidity of Phil Keaggy.
Shekina is not a head-banging guitar album but it’s definitely a project for someone looking for Christian artists creating some sophisticated jazzy instrumentals with an edge, featuring some great guitar playing backed by a world-class bass player and one of the world’s great drummers.
For information about the project:
https://shop.kosse.de/produkt/shekinah-cd/
4 tocks
Bert Saraco
You can see Bert Saraco’s concert photography at: www.facebook.com/express.image
