Review by Howard Keith (Farmhouse Studios)
Review by Reuben Dimech
Review by Eric Montfort
Review by Yannick Pace
Review by Peter Borg
Review by Patrick Harvey
Review by Robert Tomasuolo
Review by Alexei Sammut
Review by Samuel Sultana
Review by Daniel Rosner
|
Technicality and Fluidity - By Eric Montfort
"Jean Pierre Zammit’s guitar playing is not just an exercise in technical flair, it also embraces melody and religious conviction too", as he lately stated in an interview with Eric Montfort
Back in the early 1980s, Jean Pierre Zammit spent a lot of time as a roadie and started playing guitar back then. As no teachers were available he taught himself through the trial and error method. He was by and large already quite talented, full of verve, energy and very much at heart with was going on a decade before, rather than the trite fads that surrounded quite a few 1980s artistes. Then, late that decade, as many bands in Tigne' Point faded forever into obscurity, so did Jean Pierre. Little was heard about him for almost a decade, and many thought that his fate in our local music scene would go the way of those barracks that hosted so many local talents at the aforementioned local rock music landmark, now buried under a luxury residential project. However, thankfully, Jean Pierre had other plans.
He got more into music theory and having mastered the guitar, he honed his skills, and started teaching guitar by chance when Melvin ( a dear friend and now member of popular band Winter Moods ) asked Jean to teach him. He is very much respected in this regard, as newly formed band Drive can tell. Some of his former students were Marc Galea , members of bands like Recoil , Slit , Colourblind , Falcon , Septocrypt, Arcane Harmony to mention but a few. Now, in his mid 30s, Jean Pierre Zammit is very much at peace with himself. A born-again Christian, he has taken it upon him to use his inner peace as a way of expressing his creativity-and his dynamism as a musician."
"The Lord Jesus Christ came in my life 10 yrs ago and has been doing awesome things in my life ," told me Jean Pierre. No, there is no soft, languid
music, and anyone thinking that Jean Pierre Zammit would come up with any neo-New Age musical bliss would think twice on listening to his debut, new recording, an extended play featuring three songs. There is a strong Christian, spiritual influence on this recording, as the titles Deep Joy Within ', which refers to inner peace and 'Wipe Every Tear ' with references to the New Testament passage on afterlife, point out. This new recording features three instrumental numbers and one may be led to think that Jean Pierre has been following ace guitarist Joe Satriani. There are indeed flashes of proficiency, and a few techniques in harmonics and volume swells are also evident. Jean Pierre does acknowledge the man's abilities --"Satriani has mastered many performance techniques on the instrument, including two-handed tapping, sweep-picking, volume swells, harmonics, and extreme whammy bar effects. He approaches scales and soloing differently. Instead of practicing his scales in positions he practices his scales one string at a time. He moves into positions on extremely technical passages," added Jean Pierre, who however also makes it clear that he doesn't want to sound too detached from his listeners.
"My experience as a guitar teacher has been quite important in developing this new extended play. Through interacting with my students, I have exchanged ideas, and
kept myself updated with what is going on around the scene. I did retain my own artistic idioms, but at the same time, I kept a level-headed approach and thus, this extended play has a technical but melodic feel, without sounding too cerebral, too heavy for the listener. I must also give due credit to Howard Keith who did a superb job in helping me sound good on tape and Keith Gauci, who is currently developing my website!"
Jean Pierre Zammit’s new extended play will surely appeal to those who love great guitar work. It is also indicative of what he would be doing next, that is, recording his debut album, though this process would take some time to conclude. JP Zammit’s music may not be exactly the kind of stuff that would appeal to a generation that has followed the likes of Beangrowers, Corkskrew and Bitterside, though his music would gel with those who follow Fire, Winter Moods and perhaps, Scream Daisy, too, mostly due to Jean Pierre’s love of heavy music. His ornate styles can help infuse improvisation and broaden one’s horizons, provided one gets on his wavelength, of course."
 |
