The first album by flautist
Lenny MacDowell, 1984's
Balance of Power, is ECM-influenced post-fusion, mixing smooth jazz and pop sensibilities with a slight world music tinge and some feints towards the then-new genre of new age music, where
MacDowell would make his best music in the late '90s. While not a milestone of the style,
Balance of Power is actually quite good for what it is, a fine example of European art-jazz-pop that manages to stay interesting even during the side-long title track, which blends long sustained notes with abrupt hammered chords from a bank of electronic keyboards, rather like
Terry Riley jamming with early-'70s
Pink Floyd. The three shorter pieces on side one are even better, with the near-ambient "Free Fall" and the
Jon Hassell-like world jazz of "Bedouin Path" the album's primary highlights.
Lenny MacDowell wouldn't record again as a leader for 11 years, a shame considering the promise of this album and the disappointment of his comeback, 1995's vapid funk
Flute Power. ~ Stewart Mason