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Nicolas Meier had been the best guitar player nobody heard of for some time before some high profile gigs with Jeff Beck changed all that. An inventive guitar duo group with Pete Oxley also helped raise his profile, and now his joining with top notch labels like MGP and MoonJiune should help put Meier in the limelight where he belongs. A virtuoso on a multitude of fretted and non-fretted string instruments, Nicolas is equally at home playing jazz, fusion, metalish-rock or music from around the entire world. On his recent CD, “Infinity”, Meier displays his love for mid-Eastern fusion mixed with contemporary jazz and classic progressive rock.
“Infinity” opens with the heavy riffing of “The Eye of Horus”, which sounds like a Turkish influenced blend of Cream and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Some may be surprised that following track, “Still Beautiful”, offers a softer side to Meier’s music, but “Infinity” is not your typical guitar slinging hyper active fusion album, as Meier also draws upon a highly developed sense of melody and texture too. Many of the tracks on here feature Meier’s Middle-Eastern fusion, but there are others, such as the aforementioned “Still Beautiful”, as well as “Tales”. “Rose on Water” and “Serene” that are more similar to a cross between European contemporary jazz and progressive rock ballads. Of this bunch. “Rose on Water” stands out. Of the fusion tracks, the high energy of “Legend” and “Flying Spirits” capture Meier’s more aggressive playing. The sound of violin figures heavily throughout this album as three guest violinists make sure the instrument is featured on almost every track. The album closes with “JB Top”, supposedly a tribute to Billy Gibbons, but this track doesn’t sound like ZZ Top, but more like generic rock that sounds out of place compared to the rest of the tracks.
“Infinity” has cross appeal to a variety of audiences, including fans of Turkish music, jazz fusion, contemporary jazz and progressive rock. Every track has its own unique orchestrated electro-acoustic sound. with enough interesting arrangements to keep the listener engaged.