Various Artists - New Violin Summit

All Music Guide

This 2 LP set was a follow up to the 1966 Violin Summit concert, though JeanLuc Ponty is the only holdover from the earlier date. Ponty is clearly the dominant force, whether sharing the stage with the other violinists, which include blues player Sugar Cane Harris, the gypsy Nipso Brantner, and Michal Urbaniak, or featured in a solo or duo setting. Fully half of the release is dedicated to Ponty's potent compositions, including an unaccompanied exploration of "Flipping," a duet with Harris on "Astrorama," and "Violin Summit No. II," a finale featuring all four men. Harris and Brantner are effective on Muddy Waters' "Got My Mojo Workin'," while Ponty's duet with Urbaniak on "Nuggis" is not as memorable. Unlike Violin Summit, the rhythm section is fusion oriented, with keyboardist Wolfgang Dauner, guitarist Terje Rypdal, electric bassist Neville Whitehead, and drummer Robert Wyatt. This is one of the better examples of jazz violin from the early fusion era.

- Ken Dryden, All Music Guide