Jean-Luc Ponty News

Ralphe Armstrong on stage at the UDetroit Cafe. He has played with Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock and many others.

Bassist Ralphe Armstrong is a musician of parts. That's why he has always gravitated to that limitless realm of music known as fusion.

THURSDAY Mads Tolling Quartet: This Grammy-winning violinist garnered significant attention as part of the Turtle Island String Quartet but he's no slouch as a solo artist either.

This CD is divided into two parts, one a section of seven relatively up-tempo numbers collected under the heading "Groove," the other a concise six-song segment entitled "Quiet Moments." It's a masterful effort that finds Catherine on both electric and acoustic guitars, the former on the faster cuts, the latter on some of the ballads.

And the music that comes out of Alexander Mishnaevski's customized, electronic viola could be the soundtrack for a video war game.