'Before' - Joan Torres's All is Fused
By Nic Raffo

Joan Torres is one of those incredible talents that you have to delve deep into the treasure chest of music to find. Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Torres defies conventional song writing and playing styles in order to create his incredibly entrancing and technical music. This man is limited to nothing. His latest album, entitled ‘Before’ is everything that makes Joan Torres who he is, a musical ‘free spirit’.

Inundated with complex structures, time signatures and Jazz Fusion melodies, you would expect your brain to be a little sore after a couple of songs. However Torres manages to keep a certain calm flow to each song. ‘Complex music doesn’t have to be math’ and Torres certainly takes this approach to music very seriously. Songs such as ‘Disbelief’, ’Another World’ and ‘True’ are classic examples of fine Jazz pieces and are fantastic representations of this album.

If one word could come to mind when listening to Joan Torres’s ‘Before’ it would be ‘classy’. This is a perfect album for those upscale dining experiences, sultry ‘flowing red dress’ encounters and ‘shaken not stirred’ moments you may encounter during your lifetime. However I wouldn’t place this album in the ‘only fit for certain occasions barrel’. As appropriate for certain occasions this album may be, it is easily just as appropriate to be mesmerized and appreciatively silent towards such fine mastery of music. Sometimes there comes an album where you need to stop and listen, you won’t just want to, you’ll be compelled to stop and listen to ‘Before’ by Joan Torres.

It’s a great thing that Jazz still has a presence in todays music scene. Jazz has a certain mystique and aura to it that other genres don’t possess. Not only being one of the most complex and hardest genres to master, it is one of the most beautiful. To be a master of Jazz you must be extremely dedicated, passionate and expressive. With ‘Before’ you can sense just how talented these musicians are and you have a certain appreciation for just how difficult it is the even record an album of Jazz.

‘Before’ by Joan Torres is nothing but pleasure. This is an album for the classiest of occasions or for the quietest and most memorizing of experiences. ‘Before’ is of course best fit for the Jazz enthusiast, however I’d also recommend it for any fans of Progressive Rock or Psychedelic Music. Get your hands on this album now!

Source: The.Raffo.Review