Boe Burleson

I came upon John Petrucelli's "Presence" from a local friend who knew my love of listening to anything jazz. After some simple google searches of the artist, I was genuinely excited to start listening to his debut album. After 71+ minutes, I came away with a migraine and keen sense of my mortality, as I just wasted over an hour of my life I wouldn't ever get back. From Dr. John's website, a review of this album states " With Presence, Petrucelli fully manifests the depth of his learning and experience while revealing a selfless spirit". While a compelling recommendation, it most certainly misses the musical ability of Dr. Petrucelli's which is somewhere between 3rd and 4th chair of an average junior high jazz band. The album starts off flat and misses most key aspects of what great jazz musicians strive for. Most of “Intentions” and "Field of Heaven" miss their mark, but sometimes Dr. Petrucelli cribs so overtly from their influences that it feels like cheating off of a test. Where the album itself tries hard to come across groovy and effortless, this disc tilts more toward formless and excruciating. Lastly, "Summon the Spirit" can be taken quite literal, as I was praying for my speakers to suddenly stop working. Overall, $8 for this album may seem cheap but when you consider the quality of work, you may reconsider paying for it. I certainly haven't paid anything when going to my nephew's high school talent show, which I consider equal in talent to this album.