News flash (to some): Free-minded electric jazz and fusion are alive and surprisingly well in Europe, shown by these two guitar-heavy releases that straddle both genres and mix it up with other strains.
Cavallanti is the nominal leader on Smoke Inside, also a showcase for die fertile-impassioned wanderings of chameleonic guitar wizard Nels Cline. The latter’s free-floating declarations stretch way out at the start of opener. “Cline’s Line.” which unfolds into acoustic-electric funk fusion, like a blast from the early ’70s and none the worse for the wear. “Moods For Dewey'” offers room for heady improvisations by the saxophonist and Cline. After all that intensity comes a prayer, in the form of the gospel-blues piece “Go On Moses,” an apropos chill-out tune.