In the trajectory of his critical acclaimed debut album, What Keeps Me Going, released in 2014, Here I Am Again is Arthur Fowler’s follow-up release that explores the themes of life of love with Fowler’s jazz-enthused and rock-charged influences.

Fowler started out early immersing himself in the blues jam scene in the early 1980s on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He jumpstarted his musical career by playing original music with jazz artist Kelley Johnson, enrolling as a student at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and studied with virtuoso guitarist, innovator, and educator, Jack Grassel.

Fowler has collaborated with the likes of bandleader Mark Schlaefer, acclaimed vocalist Eva Denia’s first jazz ensemble as she was beginning her career in Valencia, Spain, and with one of Spain’s top guitarists, Joan Soler.

Currently, Fowler is playing jazz, blues, and pop in Tokyo and in various other venues around the area with guitar virtuoso Kei Takasugi as a duo or as a member of his electric band “Arthur Fowler and Friends.”  Fowler’s other projects feature upright bassist Alan Gleason and drummer Hisata Ken in their classic blues quartet, JI-JITOP.

Recorded in Tokyo and Chicago with Chicago Blues musicians on the first two tracks and Tokyo musicians in the last three tracks, Here I Am Again is an electric fusion that blends in a delectable mixture of jazz and blues induced rock music for the masses.

The new EP starts out with “Here I Am” that is charged from the get-go with a jazzy flair that is ambient in nature.  The highly atmospheric sound that comes across is highly engrossing.  The enticing dip into the international jazz fusion scene incorporates energized keys and a bassline that keeps up with a bluesy rhythmic pulse.  The great jam session that could be heard in this track is sprung from a stealthy stew of jazz and blues.

“Blues For Wesley” is a jazz-inspired interlude highlighting some big bustling bluesy grooves.  What is apparent from the very start is the groovy and dynamic sound emanating from the song.  Flares of electric sounding electric guitar and rhythmic basslines permeate the track with the keys keeping the energy amped up with some pop sensibilities.  There is also some enumerating on the electric guitar with an enjoyable psychedelic guitar solo that definitely sizzles with a hot sound.

“Tick Tock” incorporates some jazzy flair with entrancing rhythms on the bass and drums.  This is definitely some catchy Contemporary Radio fare with a great groovy twist to the melodious tunes coming from the keys and percussions that give off a charged and energized feel to this song.

Towards the beginning of “Los Anos,” you can hear the sounds of the wind blowing with the sounds of the solo electric guitar sounding off gradually. The bass joins in, also, offering the forlorn sounds of the wind a more electric twist. The sounds of the organ that pipes in later gives off a haunting air to the music.  There is a fiery Latin-flavor to the track, as the lyrics are both sung in English and Spanish.

The closer, “Disappearing,” unfolds with sounds of the acoustic guitar strumming in a dynamic fashion with the electric guitar accompanying later on to this rocking track.  Percussions give off a Latin-infused sound on this song.

Fowler’s latest EP release definitely adds to the momentum of the jazz scene with this compelling jazz fusion compilation.

A rich sound could be discerned, harnessed from an artillery of influences that include Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, and James Taylor.

Sonorously recommendable, Arthur Fowler’s electric jazz fusion is an enticing collaborative effort that incorporates the musical talents of musicians from Tokyo and Chicago.

Fowler’s new EP, Here I Am Again was recording with BangOnRecordings’ Seiki Kitano doing the Tokyo recording, the mixing and the mastering, and released Sept. 21, 2017.

Be sure you have a listen today!