1. Chasing Shadows 6:19 2. Walking In Walking Out 7:20 3. Guiding LIght 8:29 4. No Mans Land 7:52 5. Don't Look For Love 6:18 6. Peace Of Mind 7:45 7. Dark Within 8:28 8. One Of Those Lives 5:30 9. Where Does It End 4:58
Tony Grey is part of a new fraternity of extraordinary young electric bass guitar virtuosos (along with Matthew Garrison and Hadrien Feraud) who have taken the vocabulary of pioneers like Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke to the next level. The British-born bassist, a Berklee College of Music grad, has played on recordings by John McLaughlin (2006's Industrial Zen) and the Japanese keyboard wiz Hiromi Uehra (2004's Brain, 2006's Spiral and 2007's Time Control). On Chasing Shadows, his second recording as a leader (he previously released the self-produced Moving through his own website), Grey steps out in impressive fashion as a bandleader, accomplished composer and outstanding soloist. Surrounding himself with a stellar cast of improvisers and fellow virtuosos, including drummers Ronald Bruner Jr. and Chris Dave, harmonica ace Gregoire Maret, guitarist Lionel Loueke, bass trumpeter and trombonist Elliot Mason, current collaborator and former Berklee classmate Oli Rockberger, the astounding Holdsworthian guitarist Tim Miller and pianist Hiromi, Grey acquits himself as a remarkably fluent player with a strong melodic penchant on pieces like the beautiful ballad Don't Look For Love, the breezy Walking In Walking Out and the upbeat title track. He reveals an appealing pop sensibility on Guiding Light, which carries a Police-meets-Pat Metheny quality, and he unleashes with abandon on formidable chops showcases like Dark Within and No Man's Land, his answer to Jaco's Teen Town. Grey engages in some lively call-and-response with Loueke on the buoyant Afro-pop flavored One of Those Lives and he builds to an ecstatic crescendo on the rhapsodic closer, Where Does It End. From start to finish, Grey delivers with authority, taste and inspiration on his fully realized sophomore outing.