All-star lead melodic voices work more effectively on
3rd Force's latest,
Vital Force, because the primary goal set by the main trio of
William Aura,
Craig Dobbin, and
Alain Eskinasi (multi-instrumentalists all) is to create a playground of vibe and atmosphere upon which others strut their stuff. Once again, and to great effect, the trio relies heavily on machine-generated grooves, easing between light funk and gentle hypnotic suggestions. The melodies are chiefly carried by the likes of labelmates
Craig Chaquico and
Ozzie Ahlers, not to mention
Rick Braun and
Peter White. The stars get the label copy, but on the whole, it's the horn section of
Gary Herbig and
Jeff Elliot that adds the most excitement to the forces underneath. They don't bill it as acid jazz, but it's as close as the smooth stuff gets. ~ Jonathan Widran