Reviews and Press Releases

"On May 20th (2020/05/20), 9MUSES Records released Fusion Point Trio's "The Best". This release is dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the founding of the band. The collection includes eight tracks (from all trio albums), which are often performed at concerts and are the most popular. The audio material was substantially reworked: in five of the eight tracks the bass part was replaced by the double bass part; in four compositions the piano part is completely re-recorded; in one composition the drum part is re-mixed; three compositions from the last album were remastered. "
"Thus, the work on the release, which lasted about two years, is quite comparable with the efforts to release a completely new album. Despite this, the musicians are pleased (especially in the current pandemic environment) to present the updated sound of the compositions loved by the listeners - replacing bass parts looks fair and updated piano parts take the overall sound and performance capabilities of the trio to a new level.
The leader of the trio and the author of all compositions, Kirill Sokirko, considers this work as preparation for the recording of the next albums, given that the band has accumulated a lot of unpublished material.
The album is available for review and purchase on the sites of most of the music services. The label also plans to release it on physical media in a limited edition." - 9MUSES Records.
"This is the band's third album. The music from this release was attributed by different critics to different styles - the musicians themselves confirm this. Most opinions agree that this music can be conditionally attributed to styles such as modern jazz, post-modern jazz, post-fusion and, in some compositions, to the crossover jazz style, although the style palette of musical material is much wider.
All compositions for the album are written by Kirill Sokirko, the founder of the band. The album is positioned by the author as a suite - that is, as a sequence of compositions that are united by a single idea.
Here we will hear the traditional chamber sound and sense emphasis on musical form."

"Conceptually, the album is much similar to the trio's previous works (Morning Rain, 2012, Mind and Illusion, 2014). But if established "stamps" can be found in these albums, the album "Circles of Time" is dominated by non-standard ways of developing musical material.
The album will be interesting to fans of piano jazz, classical music, and will also be suitable for fans of crossover music." - 9MUSES Records.

"The music of the Russian band is very melodic, and the compositions themselves are progressive, so the listener will not feel uniformity or tiredness. The material is lively and developing is very interesting. The most interesting thing is that the listener does not expect in which direction the musicians will lead him. There are no improvisations here, but this does not mean that the compositions are predictable. This is not an album based on a song scheme. Not only because there are no songs here, but, above all, because the Russians forced their instruments to tell us a fantastic story. You really can understand it without words!" - Mikolaj Furmankiewicz, moozik.bloog.pl.
"I will start by saying Morning Rain is one of the most melodic
jazz albums I have ever heard and folks, over the last few years I have heard quite a few.
The band is clearly led by Sokirko's beautiful piano work as he is the melodic force behind the trio. His playing
is poignant and classy and very accessible and a joy to listen to. Of course there are two other band members here
adding their crisp rhythms to the trio's pianofied sound. The album's eight tracks are all melodically strong with not
a weak one in the bunch. It is clear the band takes a compositional approach to songwriting as improvisation takes a
back seat to well written pieces lying mostly in the spectrum of smooth jazz.
The first piece is "Mania" beginning with a lovely piano intro and light cymbal taps. It is a modern smooth jazz
sound and the playing is superb. The rhythm section has just the right amount of snap to complement Sokirko's fluid
and melodic piano lines. In the slightly wistful "Waltz 'n' Blues" I had an overwhelming sense of nostalgia as the
band captures classic jazz in fine fashion. With "A Very Tough Day" the band combines smooth jazz with their classical
background. In the tasteful title track the melody takes on tinges
of sadness going for a more plaintive sound and as with all the tracks the sound is clean and clear. This album is
exceptionally produced from start to finish. I could go on but suffice to say there are no duds here.
If you are searching for jazz with great melodies and a high degree of accessibility, Morning Rain should suit you just fine. Highly recommended." - Jon Neudorf on seaoftranquility.org.
