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Marbin is essentially guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Markovitch, plus a variety of guest musicians, who combine jazz fusion, modern blues-rock and world music on their new CD, “Last Chapter of Dreaming”, into a personal form of highly melodic instrumental music. There is a very eclectic mix going on here with Rabin’s strong expressive guitar sound often recalling Jeff Beck, Steve Vai or Oz Noy, while Markovitch’s slippery slinky soprano saxophone recalls the Yiddish influence in the music of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Melody is the key here as these guys have a knack for memorable tunes that grow and develop, and once again, particularly with Markovitch, often contain strains from older richer cultures.
There’s a lot of great tunes on here; “Blue Fingers” and “On the Square” mix noire jazz sax riffs with hard rock ala early King Crimson, while “Inner Monologue” displays a passionate Middle Eastern melody driven by double time percussion and “Volta“ features rapid fusion solos from both Dani and Danny. Other tunes on here can be more reflective and almost sentimental, but never overly maudlin. Wordless vocals from a variety of guests gives some of their melodies the sound of 50s exotica or early psychedelia, it’s a great effect that they use wisely without over indulgence. Possibly this CDs biggest asset is the production, “Last Chapter” has a big full sound that gives Rabin one of the strongest electric guitar sounds around. All around this is an excellent release by Marbin, but fans of Rabin’s intense, yet melodic, guitar shredding would have probably preferred more fusion and rock, and less of the sentimental tunes, which seem to dominate more towards the end of the CD.