Zao - Akhenaton

In 1994 Zao, after having disbanded for more than 15 years, save for a one-off reunion gig in 1986, reunited for one album. Akhenaton features original members Yochk'o Seffer (sax), Faton Cahen (keyboards) and Jean-My Truong (drums), plus bassist Dominique Bertram and violinist Patrick Tilleman. Musically the album is closer to the virtuoso jazz-fusion that characterized the band's mid-career work, although those expecting Zeuhl elements may be disappointed, as there are none. Akhenaton features competent, well played if a bit sterile jazz-rock compositions from both Cahen and Seffer, the latter still on soprano sax that plays unison with violin, just like the old days. While musically the album is not a carbon copy of mainstream American jazz-fusion a la Weather Report like Typhareth was and compositions like "Elioth" clearly point to Seffer's own style, occasionally reminiscent of Ghilgoul era Neffesh Music, one gets the impression that Seffer and Cahen were merely content writing jazz-rock compositions in their own standard style, instead of trying to do something different. Worse still, Cahen's keyboard timbre is really grating, as he used a digital synth-piano called Wersi on this album. As a result, Akhenaton sounds like a dated nineties jazz-rock record. Clearly, Seffer and Cahen could have done better. And they would, as shown by their subsequent collaborations, including a further reunion of Zao. Still, it is impossible to deny how finely suited Seffer and Cahen are for each other as musicians, as the final soprano sax and acoustic piano duet "Les Fleurs Pour Nefertiti", easily the best piece here, indicates.