Jacaranda (Trevor Rabin album)

Jacaranda was Rabin's first studio album of all new material since ''Can't Look Away'' (1989), a gap of 23 years. to write music that interested him and challenging to play, feeling "totally free" to develop material with an emphasis on performance and not be concerned whether others would like it or not. He opted to make an instrumental album as one with lead vocals and lyrics did not interest him, and pointed out the benefit of changing track titles easily should he wish to change them. As Rabin was out of practice, the quick and technical guitar passages on the album led to him suffering from blisters on his hands when recording. He practised the piano and guitar in half-hour sections while working on film scores until he was able to perform the material he had written for the album. == Recording ==

tree found in his native South Africa. Jacaranda was recorded over a five to six-year period It was recorded digitally throughout using the audio workstation software Digital Performer with electronic instrumentation used as little as possible to emphasise the playing of genuine instruments. "Anerley Road" refers to the road where he grew up, "and each side of the road is lined with Jacaranda trees ... the road becomes like this purple carpet and it is pretty spectacular". "The Branch Office" refers to a jazz music venue in the city. Recording an album with such memories made Rabin feel "a little" homesick. The album took a considerable amount of time to complete as Rabin worked on it during breaks from film scoring and family holidays. In 2011, he felt he needed to become more disciplined to finish the album and rejected several scoring projects that year to allow more free time. "Killarney 1 & 2" was recorded with two Neumann 87 model microphones. Though Rabin did not plan on how the drums turned out on the final record, he was satisfied with the result and spent time thinking about which drummer would be the most suitable for each track. Rabin had never met Colaiuta before, but the drummer was happy to play for him and enjoyed playing on "Market Street" so much, he asked Rabin if there were other tracks he could feature on. At that point, Rabin was still sketching out what "Through the Tunnel" was going to be but later recalled: "Before I had got through explaining it to him he sat down and played exactly what it was. It was phenomenal". Jacaranda featured Rabin using elements from a variety of genres, including jazz, rock, blues, classical and baroque music, and bluegrass (the last of which he had been a fan of from a while and had integrated its sound into many of his film scores, but not into any previous solo music). This was not a particularly conscious approach, since Rabin had simply decided to proceed in each case with material that worked, but the mixture made the album exciting for him. On each track, Rabin wanted to "explore something new", and . For much of the album he adopted a writing style he called "orchestrally, but with guitars". Following the album's release, Rabin became unsure as to what genre the album fits under; following its release he called it "an instrumental album with a whole load of different things". Despite the variety of music explored within Jacaranda and the consequent difficulty in marketing it, Rabin considered the album to be the most focused of his career, and considered the music he expressed on it a turning point in his career, deciding to become as creatively free on his future solo projects. == Songs ==

Jacaranda opens with "Spider Boogie", a short track that Rabin recorded while he was testing out a new amplifier. "Market Street", the first of two tracks with Colaiuta on the drums, had not been fully written or arranged when it came to recording the drum tracks. Rabin asked him to perform six to seven minutes of drums with a 20/8 time signature with varied fills which Colaiuta did in one take, leaving Rabin to develop the song further with the different rhythms that were played. Rabin felt it would be suitable for Jacaranda, but he co-owns the rights to the original arrangement with The Walt Disney Company, leaving him the choice of re-recording it with added guitar parts. The track is a tribute to the influence that classical music had on Rabin in his youth, and working on film scores for a number of years provided him with a natural influence for the piece. Though "Killarney 1 & 2" was not its original title, Rabin felt it was appropriate to rename it after the Johannesburg neighbourhood of Killarney where he grew up. "Me and My Boy" is the second track to feature Ryan Rabin on the drums. It opens with a heavy rock sound that Rabin achieved on an Ampeg guitar that Chris Squire's technician gave to him with a pickup that could move up and down the body. Having never used the guitar before, Rabin later called it "the biggest piece of crap". The song then developed from the opening riff. "Gazania" concludes with a bark from Rabin's dog Rompie. Rabin provides the vocals on the second half of the track which he did for added texture. == Release ==

Rabin did not consider options on how to the album was to be released, and with what label, until 2011, as the album neared completion. Despite being told that releasing an instrumental album would result in a decline in sales, Rabin chose to sign with Varèse Sarabande, a label that specialises in film scores and cast recordings, as he liked the staff and knew of past soundtracks released through them. He added: "Varese just seemed to get it. They really got what I was trying to do and understood what it was." The release date of Jacaranda was pushed back several times. Billboard first reported an initial release of September 2011, before Rabin said early January 2012 then April 2012. The album was finally released on 8 May 2012. The album entered the Billboard charts at No. 6 under Contemporary Jazz Albums and No. 19 under Jazz Albums. On 1 August 2012, a music video for "Anerley Road" was released on YouTube. Rabin had made initial consultations to make one with a video producer, but soon wished to oversee the project himself. He filmed, edited, and produced the video which features himself and Molino miming to the song. == Reception ==

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published a positive review that considered the album an "artistic and challenging achievement" and a "richly varied and multi-dimensional musical soundscape", with Rabin's guitar work as the album's main tour de force. Ian Patterson of All About Jazz gave the album a positive review, writing "an innovative, surprising recording, which merges contrasting musical styles quite seamlessly. Rabin's nuanced writing and enveloping arrangements are as notable as his sparkling playing which, whilst technically impressive, is primarily concerned with telling a story." Shawn Perry also wrote a positive review for Vintage Rock, describing the album as "a tapestry of textures, layers, disciplines and pure virtuosity". GuitarHoo praised Rabin highly, saying the album "solidifies his place as a musical legend" that highlights his ability to "go back and forth between styles, while making it all his own, in an easy to listen to way. "Anerley Road" was picked as a highlight of the record, "interweaving intricate melodies with piano and syncopated beats". Classic Rock Revisited wrote that with Jacaranda, Rabin "amazes listeners with his technique, versatility, virtuosity, and physical dexterity" with guitar picking styles comparable to Chet Atkins. Speaking on the album, Rabin expected to receive criticism from it as it lacked a strong focus to a particular demographic, but felt it was a good thing as he likes and performs a variety of music styles. == Track listing==

All tracks written and arranged by Trevor Rabin. == Personnel ==

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. • Trevor Rabin • acoustic and electric guitars (dobro, Westone Rainbow guitar, Gibson Super 400 CES, Moon acoustic guitar, gut string guitar, Alvarez signature guitar, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Gretsch guitar, Barney Kessel guitar, Ludwig banjo, Alvarez acoustic guitar) • bass guitars (Alembic bass, upright bass, Tobias guitar, Westone fretless bass, Bugbass upright bass) • keyboards (Young Chang grand piano, Hammond B-3 organ) • autoharp • "a little vocal" Additional musicians • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums on "Market Street" and "Through the Tunnel" • Lou Molino III – drums on "Anerley Road", "Freethought", and "Zoo Lake" • Ryan Rabin – drums on "The Branch Office" and "Me and My Boy" • Tal Wilkenfeld – electric bass guitar on "Anerley Road" • Liz Constantine – vocals on "Rescue" Production • Trevor Rabin – production, engineering • Paul Linford – mastering • Ron DeVivo – back cover photo • Bill Pitzonka – art direction and design • Hannah Hooper – cover portrait ==Charts==