Jean-Luc Ponty - The Gift of Time (1987)

The act of switching to Columbia did not have a substantial impact upon Jean-Luc Ponty -- not yet, at least -- for his debut with the label found him mining the repeating, sequencer-driven lode that he was exploring while on Atlantic. But there are two areas where there is a difference: the material is superior to that of Fables, more memorable and immediately winning in melodic and arpeggiated content, and the sound quality is considerably improved over that of much of his Atlantic output. The rhythm section of Fables returns, with Pat Thomi replacing Scott Henderson on guitar, and as before, they take a definite back seat to their leader's violins, synthesizers and electronic devices. Other points of note: "Between Sea and Sky" has a slightly Jamaican feel, and the lovely "Introspective Perceptions" (another of Ponty's notoriously portentous word pairings) is exactly what the title says it is, appropriately recorded solo.