This 2004 release isn't the first time that jazz or jazz-friendly musicians have acknowledged a well-known painter; over the years, jazz compositions have been inspired by Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh, among others. In fact, avant-garde improvisers seem to be especially fond of van Gogh, whose abstract, eccentric paintings could arguably be described as a visual equivalent of
Cecil Taylor,
Ornette Coleman or
Anthony Braxton -- like those musicians, van Gogh gave us works of art that are brilliant but not for everyone. And on this CD, composer/singer
Eddy Orini's visual inspiration is Spanish painter Salvador Dali (b. May 11, 1904, Spain, d. Jan. 23, 1989). Despite the fact that
Divine Mustache: A Musical Tribute to the Genius of Salvador Dali was recorded for a Swiss jazz label (TCB Music) and employs European jazz musicians,
Orini's salute to Dali isn't really jazz -- jazz-influenced, yes, but not really jazz (even if one has a truly broad definition of the word and believes that jazz is everything from
King Oliver's Dixieland to
Weather Report's fusion). Actually, the category that
Divine Mustache pretty much falls into is progressive rock; stylistically, this release brings to mind bands like
Emerson, Lake & Palmer,
Yes,
Pink Floyd and
Genesis, and
Orini shares their appreciation of European classical music.
Orini's eccentric and quirky yet musical offerings can be self-indulgent, but not overwhelmingly so -- and more often than not, his risk-taking pays off. Although
Divine Mustache misses the mark on occasion and is slightly uneven, the album still has a lot more ups than downs. All things considered,
Orini's interest in Dali's paintings works to his creative advantage on this intriguing, if mildly inconsistent, effort. ~ Alex Henderson