''Extraction'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

, in collaboration with drummer

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

and bassist

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

. It was released on October 7, 2003, by

Tone Center Records Tone Center Records is a record label devoted to jazz fusion. It was founded by Mike Varney, who started the rock music label Shrapnel Records in 1980. The label grew out of Varney's admiration for the jazz fusion of the 1970s and groups such as ...

,Prato, Greg
"Extraction - Greg Howe"
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-01-06. after a very difficult recording process which spanned two years, resulting in disagreements between the three musicians and Shrapnel founder

Mike Varney Mike Varney is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also has a 50% stake in Magna Carta Recor ...

, as well as several delays in the release date. "A Delicacy" is a re-recording of an instrumental released on '' Now Hear This'', a 1991 album by Howe II (an earlier band formed by Howe). "Proto Cosmos" is a jazz fusion composition by pianist

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a ...

that appeared on The New Tony Williams Lifetime's 1975 album '' Believe It''.

Critical reception

Todd S. Jenkins at

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

gave ''Extraction'' a mixed review, describing it as "just about evenly divided between well-crafted, thoughtful compositions and dead-end chops demonstrations." Praise was given to each musician for their technical craft and musical contributions, but criticism was directed at some of the songs for being "pretty much inconsequential filler, the kind of aimless noodling that almost put fusion in its grave a decade ago." Furthermore, he remarked that Howe "tries to say too much at times" and Wooten "tends to fall into the 16th-note babble pattern." Jenkins concluded by saying "''Extraction'' does have its moments, but it's not the most wisely considered entry in anyone's catalog here." Greg Prato at

gave the album a more positive review, saying that "the tunes often recall the carefree fusion days of the 1970s ..As far as modern-day fusion goes, ''Extraction'' is pretty darn consistent from front to back". He listed "Crack It Way Open", "Tease", "Ease Up", and the title track as highlights.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD edition liner notes: *

– guitar,

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...

, keyboards *David Cook – keyboards *

– bass guitar *

– drums *Mark Gifford –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing *John Grant – engineering *Tony Gross – mixing *Ashley Moore – mastering

References

External links

In Review: Howe/Wooten/Chambers "Extraction"
at Guitar Nine Records {{Authority control Greg Howe albums Victor Wooten albums 2003 albums Tone Center Records albums Albums recorded in a home studio