Jazz
Jazz Fusion
Track, rate, and sort your album collection.
Back to Sardinia (2020) by Hungarian jazz-fusion outfit Djabe and legendary Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett is a rich, sun-drenched live-in-the-studio audio tapestry that captures a seamless fusion of progressive rock, world music, and Mediterranean-infused jazz. Recorded during their collaborative sessions in Sardinia, the album’s acoustic signature is defined by its wide-open, natural room ambience, vibrant instrumental textures, and immaculate spatial separation.
Steve Hackett’s iconic guitar tone serves as a central melodic bridge, shifting effortlessly between pristine, classical nylon-string fingerpicking and his signature Les Paul sustain—soaring through the center channel with smooth, chorus-drenched volume swells and singing lead lines. Flanking his performance is Attila Égerházi’s acoustic and electric guitar work, which lays down intricate, Latin-tinged rhythm patterns that pan wide across the stereo stage to create a lush, dual-guitar panorama.
The album’s upper-mid and high frequencies sparkle with organic color, driven by Ben Castle’s fluid saxophone and clarinet runs alongside Álmous Turi’s expressive violin lines. Tamás Barabás—who also engineered and mixed the project—delivers a masterclass in bass production: his basslines are hyper-articulate, punchy, and deeply resonant, blending nimble, virtuoso fingerstyle runs with a warm, subterranean low-end foundation that grounds the entire ensemble.
Péter Kaszás’s drum kit and Gulli Briem’s extensive world percussion setup establish a vibrant, highly tactile rhythm matrix. The audio presentation captures every nuance of the performance—from delicate shaker decay and crisp hand-drum slaps to a snapping snare crack and shimmering cymbal air that washes naturally across an uncluttered stage. The overall sound profile is bright, airy, and deeply organic, offering a high-fidelity sonic travelogue packed with warmth, dynamic breath, and virtuosic interplay.