Diumenge

This jazz fusion instrumental combo from the Catalonia region in Northeast Spain captures the relaxed Mediterranean mood without going into the clichés of easy listening or smooth jazz. The group consists of three brothers, Esteve, Joan, and Josep Furtuny, on guitars, sax, and percussion, respectively, as well as keyboardist Jordi Soley and bassist Carles Vidal. Like Guadalquiver and Musica Urbana, they stick a touch of Spanish ethnic music into their jazz, but Companyia Electrica Dharma sounds far more calm and breezy on these nine tracks. Diumenge is their first album and one of their best, before they succumbed to more pop-oriented moves that made them sound far less unique. Electric guitar, keyboard, and sax and even a Spanish acoustic guitar take turns on some wild solos as the rhythm section pumps out exotic and free-flowing funk grooves, especially on tracks like "Fesomies Urbanes," "Euforia," and the wonderful ten-minute "Capitan Trueno." Many of the tracks start off in lulling dreamlike ambience for a minute or two before the rhythm kicks into higher gear where the music becomes fast and dynamic even as it retains its warm, relaxed essence.