I’ve never been a big fan of instrumental music in the past. The last couple of months however my appreciation of instrumental music has been slowly inclining because of a couple of nice releases. Neil Zaza’s Melodica is the absolute climax so far. This is one of the few instrumental solo albums that really sounds like a team effort. This may be due to the fact that Zaza chose not to use the help of any of the companions that appeared as guest musicians on his debut album Staring At The Sun. Instead he works with a small group of people among whom Bill Cioce on drums, Doug Johns on bass and Mark Leach on Hammond and organ. All these musicians individually stand for quality, together they are responsible for a remarkable release.

One of the things I like particularly is the way in which Zaza melted all the different melodies and styles into great songs. Looking at the title one might believe that melody is the keyword, but in my opinion the song writing of Zaza is what really stands out. The new album just sounds so much more balanced than the previous one. If I had to summarize “Melodica” in one word it would be; exciting. I would recommend it to anyone who thinks that instrumental albums are not worth listening to. This one will prove you’re wrong!