Anton Fig, FIGMENTS (Planula Records, 2002)

Records by sessions musicians are a problematic issue at best. The art of being a session musician is that you can fit seemlessly into the style of music being recorded on a given day. You're backing up Richie Havens, you play like this; for Brian Wilson you play like that. A little more oomph for Ace Frehley, some "world" textures for Blondie Chaplin. Anton Fig, who plays drums in Dave Letterman's band, is a South African musician who has learned to be that elusive beat-meister in any context. On FIGMENTS he is joined by all the musicians previously mentioned, and more. His first album is a smorgasbord of sound and texture.

The album begins with two beautiful performances by Blondie Chaplin, on lead vocals and guitar, singing songs co-written with Fig. Both "Home" and "Hand On My Shoulder" are expressive mid-tempo tunes, highlighted by Fig's solid rhythmic percussion and some quite marvelous singing. Chaplin is multi-tracked on "Home, where my feet are on the ground..." and forms a unique one man choir with African roots. The backing vocals on "Hand..." are provided by Brian Wilson, and they are lovely. Chaplin once served as a Beach Boy during the Holland era; Fig provides the opportunity for a reunion.

Ivan Neville sings "Inside Out" bringing a touch of New Orleans funk to the table; foundational keyboards played by Adam Holzman and a nice flugelhorn solo by Randy Brecker!

Richie Havens takes over the vocals on "More Than Friends," a track which is awash with guitars, including Enrique Vargas's flamenco part. "Know Where You Go" features Skid Row rocker Sebastian Bach's lead vocals and Kiss veteran Ace Frehley's guitar! This kind of ingredient added to the stew which is FIGMENTS is exactly what I was talking about when I said session musican's albums were problematic; nevertheless, Anton Fig's subtlety on drums, the sympathetic musicians used (including Bakithi Kumalo, Neil Jason & Will Lee on bass and a variety of keyboard players) and the fact that Fig had a hand in all the songwriting adds a common vision to the songs. The cut and paste approach never overwhelms the fact that this is "a solo album."

Blondie Chaplin sings the anthemic "Utopia" fronting the largest band on the record: Paul Schaffer on keyboards, Chris Spedding on lead guitar, Sid McGinnis and Keith Lentin (from New York's Parlor Dogs) on guitars, Neil Jason on bass and background vocals from Catherine Russell. "3:4 Folk" is a crossbreed of African and Indian sounds. Vincent Nguini & Ira Siegel play guitar, Amit Chaterjee sings Indian vocals and plays lead guitar, and Richard Bona plays bass and adds African vocals. It is melodic, rhythmic and appealing. This is only half the album! There's lots left.

Anton Fig has created an album that has more than enough styles; he has managed to combine rock, world, alternative rock, smooth jazz, and folk into one persuasive whole through sensitive compositions, the art of creative collaboration, and artistic vision. FIGMENTS is more than equal to the sum of its parts; perhaps not for everyone but if you have an adventurous spirit and would like a challenging, melodic listen you would do well to start here.