Coke Cruz: Drums
Pato Martin: Drums

Jaime Scalpello: Vocals

Ricardo Henríquez: Bass

Javier Sepúlveda: guitars

Nicolás Figueroa: Guitars

Ignacio Ruiz: guitars & Bass

Alejandro de la Cuadra: Drums

Rodrigo Godoy: Vocals, Guitars & Bass

Jaime Rosas: Synthesizers, Piano, Hammond & Programming

Drums recorded at Tarkus by Juan Ricardo Weiler

Keyboards recorded at Opus 125 studios by Jaime Rosas

Everything else recorded in several studios :)

CD Art: Andrés Oreña

Photography: Soledad Gómez

Masterization Francisco Holzman

Executive producers: Jaime Rosas
& Juan Barrenechea for Mylodon Records

Release Date: March, 2011.

Label: Mylodon Records

Distribution: Mylodon Records / Musea Records

Composed, Mixed & Produced by Jaime Rosas

F L A S H B A C K S

Contrast... the pleasant feeling when you listen to El Principio del Ritmo, composed by my friend Jaime, and suddenly, only in seconds, everything moves in a violent way, it is hard to express with words. That dawn I was recording a take of the solo, but because of the earthquake I couldn't save anything... there were a lot of things that couldn't be saved. But this records comes out, Chile stands up, life is stronger, and music is life... or life is music, the primary vibration has rhythm, that's what we are made of, and that's what Jaime's composition is about, the beginning of life...

Nico Figueroa  

(recording this track in the middle of one of the biggest earthquakes in history, February, 2010)

We were playing in a rock festival in Torreon, México, for the Extremos tour in 2004. The crowd was very big and everybody was having a very good time with our show, reaching to delirium when we played 21st Century Schizoid Man. All was pretty cool: sound, lights and the wind. When our set was over a lot of fans came for autographs and pictures, suddenly, some girls came screaming to me and between hugs, they told me you are awesome Jaime Rosas. Jaime just looked at me and laughed quietly.

Rodrigo Godoy

Baja Prog is probably one of the best Art Rock festivals of the whole world. Few people know though that one year a soccer competition was organized for the musicians to play.  In 2006, Chile played for the championship against England. In that memorable match Jaime Rosas kicked the ball very hard for a goal scoring opportunity leaving England's goal keeper half dead. Finally we won 4-2 and became champions. The english goalkeeper was none other than Marillion's Pete Trewavas.

Juan Ricardo Weiler

I know Jaime for twenty years now and I always suspected he was crazy, now, after playing in this record, it is officially confirmed. I don't what's inside his head, but his compositions, especially Primera Luz, are filled with changing metrics, accents here and there and wicked rhythms. I had to study and rehearse for weeks to come up with the definitive version. The recording session was very relaxed, basically Jaime gave all the freedom for me to play my own arrangements. Finally we both were very happy: in my case because of the result of many weeks of hard work, and Jaime because he finally heard this track, which I know it's important for him, as he always imagine it in his crazy head.

Coke Cruz

I remember when Jaime asked me to sing the beautiful song Lluvia, for his debut solo album, just before our first mexican tour with Entrance, back in 2003.  That trip was very special for me, because my daughter has just being born and we made that wonderful tour. When we were at the airport, Jaime gave a copy of his finished record and I listen to it during all the tour. I remember when the airplane took off I start to listen  that music and I was deeply embraced by emotions and peace that never left me through the whole tour. Those are the moments that music gives us and we treasure forever, and that is the reason why I should be thankful to artists and creators like Jaime, for his constant search for beauty.

Jaime Scalpello

We were playing to present our debut album with Entrance, there were a lot of people and a lot of excitement. One song we played had a very long keyboard solo in the middle section, more than four minutes. Well, the show began, everything was very loud but clear, the keyboard solo begins, and after 15 seconds Jaime is forced to stop because everything was so loud that the police came  in. If the police haven't arrived, we will probably be still listening the keyboard solo.

Alejandro de la Cuadra

Since I first listen to Extremos that I wanted to be part of Jaime's band. The only problem was that, until then, he played with a trio format (keyboards-bass-drums). Difficult task! So I emailed him, called him several times, and had a lot of practice and endless rehearsals to come up with a good version of his music. The keyboard parts are very difficult because obviously they were not composed for a guitarist, so I had to invent my own way to play that music, switching fingers and pick.  Jaime tends to be stubborn so it was a hard process for me, but I think he started to change his mind when he watched me playing his Brief Rock Pieces. I entered his band, we recorded Creciendo and did a memorable tour through Brazil. It was my first real professional gig, I felt like a true rocker, and since then I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Javier Sepúlveda

As a musician and idealist I have been always in some sort of crazy idea, for instance, Croma, my music business. A couple of years ago I produced and conducted a radio show with the best of Chile's art rock. For one program I wanted to interview Jaime, so I called him and we agreed to record the show, but it had to be  later that day, since I was having a haircut. Jaime, with his singular sense of humor told me, please don´t, if you cut your hair I will miss my only chance to be interviewed by Beethoven, keep that white disheveled long style just for the interview.

Ricardo Henríquez

(who has a remarkable Beethoven look in his good days)

It must have been in 1985 when we started to play together. I remember an old Baldwin organ where Jaime rehearsed relentlessly Mozart's Turkish March and Liszt's Hungarian Rapsody. Between covers by Journey, Deep Purple, Rush and Genesis, we began to compose our own material. Those were very good years of youth, friendship and passion for music. Today, 25 years later, youth has sort of disappeared, but friendship and passion are still there. It was an honor to play in Memoria, and a true challenge. The chord progression is very unusual and the melodic line floats like ether. These are key elements that make Memoria a great tune and Jaime a great composer.

Nacho Ruiz

Jaime is a simple guy that makes complex music. In his compositions there are lots of odd metrics, to-the-limit harmonies and very interesting structures. But as a person he is faithful to the basic needs. Three or four years ago we both were having our vacations in southern Chile, so I invited him to a BBQ at Lake Caburga. Little by little, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong: the lights went off, we were attacked by bats and were invaded by termites. The only thing that actually went ok was the BBQ and that was enough. The moral of the story: for Jaime everything works out fine with a good piece of T-bone, sirloin or fillet. He is a guy that knows how to have a good time with the good and simple things of life.

Pato Martin

Jaime Rosas is undoubted one of the best keyboardists (is that an English word ?)..... make that; tangent player in this scene. He is on par with the professionally universities educated tangent players from ex USSR, Rick Wakeman and in particular; Keith Emerson. He is in the Keith Emerson mould too when he paints big synth pictures in his compositions. Minimalism is not what he is a fan of. ELP fans can safely order his albums and in particular; his live album.

In my reviews of that album and two other studio albums, I have also mentioned Dream Theater as the second reference source. Which was true for those albums. But Jaime Rosas has changed tack on this album and put/showed Dream Theater to the background. I do not know if the title of the album; Flashback, gives me a clue there. I need to ask him, in fact, because that is a question that is almost keeping me awake during my work now. But.... This album is far more a flashback to older scenes than the one inhabitated by Dream Theater. Yes, ELP and the 1970s symph prog scene. But Jaimie Rosas has introduced a lot of more tender, pastoral melodies into this album. A lot of this album actually takes a lot from the Rock Progressivo Italiano scene. In fact; a lot from Angelo Branduardi. That is something I never ever expected from Jaime Rosas. But it is a step in the right direction. Santiago moves to Rome.

This album still have a lot of those big symphonic prog ELP like aural paintings, but now also with some Rock Progressivo Italiano elements too. That summarises this album which also includes a 20 minutes long suite called Primera Luz.

The above mentioned Primera Luz is the best track on this album. But the rest of this album is also absolute great. This album is not an immediate hit, though. It takes time (yes, the dreaded term "takes time"). His melodies always sneaks up on you and then takes over. Then you starts to hum them at work. I am at that stage now.

In short; Jaime Rosas has again delivered a great album. An unexpected, but great album. Maybe he has come of age. A piece like El Principio Del Ritmo feels like it could had been done by an old fox in the jazz scene.

In short; a very varied album with a wide variety of music and his best studio album so far.

REVIEWS

Let´s take a look at the chilean progressive scene. Well, we have in our hands an album that took more than two years of work to the perfectionist and virtuoso keyboardist JAIME ROSAS to develop and complete, returning and recycling old ideas at the same time was germinating, and concluding forging new ones: the result, Flashback. In perfect consistency with the general idea of reviewing the proper place within the musical environment developed over years and years, Jaime Rosas returns to operate strictly as a soloist accompanied by guest musicians after making his two previous studio albums on a trio and quartet formats. This new book has some connection with Creciendo, but also just to clarify that this new album has a well established personality, and even contains a higher dose of color in the palette of sounds and stylistic strategies covered in his repertoire, yes, always within a well defined musical coherence, unity in diversity.

Since Primera Luz (First Light) the opening track of the album is a progressive suite of over 20 minutes long, it is clear the decision of Jaime Rosas to have an all-in-attitude since the beginning. He gives free rein to his Wakeman and Emerson influences and adds a strong and forceful punch that has a lot in common with an ultra-baroque symphonic style, like the ones of Par Lindh Project and Gerard. The first three minutes are occupied by a magnificent storm well supported by the rhythm duo. The next phase has a much calmer aura, whereas the current pomposity becomes introspective though not at all lacking in punch: I spoke of calm, no languor. Shortly before reaching the seventh minute barrier, calm gives way to a new explicit torque, this time to the rhythm of blues-rock but with logic synthesizer lines that ensure the symphonic atmosphere: this time is a bridge to a thrilling series of passages, which themselves are very similar in spirit to the original theme... and continue to a perfect combination of technical expertise and good taste. At 10 minutes we reach to a reflective and solemn section, where the singing of Jaime Scalpello gives voice to mystic piano harmonies and airy keyboard orchestrations. The emergence of an extrovert interlude serves mainly to enhance the mysticism in a new light for a moment, not contrast, the contrast itself reaches at the end of the singing, with a forceful retaking of the electrifying willing to round up the idea for the last 5 minutes.

El Principio del Ritmo (The Principle of Rhythm) is an animal of another specie: a smooth jazz exercise which explores a quiet cadence with great elegance and some interesting moments of piano and guitar dialogue guided by a refined sense of subtlety.

And following the changing mood of this record, the timing is precise for Buenos Momentos (Good Times), which fits perfectly with Jaime Rosas’ standard at his most extroverted, incendiary symphonic style. Rosas gladly shares the spotlight with guitarist Javier Sepulveda in the fiercest passages, but the prevailing atmosphere is the "Wagnerian orchestra" translated into the language of rock: in the latter, we can find some reminiscences of his own epic  compositions in the modus operandi of Entrance.

Lejos, (Away) is an old composition Rosas rescues for the occasion: it is composition that has the potential of a typical power-ballad, but the author, in collaboration with his colleague Rodrigo Godoy, reworked it as a ballad where the symphonism is manifested in its most ethereal way, adding some interesting variations on the general cadence of the song. If Buenos Momentos is related to the previous adventures of the incendiary album Creciendo, Lejos is connected with the intimate moments of it.

Memoria (Memory) is another matter rescued from the old days, and in fact dates from the time that Rosas debuted in the rock scene with a band called Iron Will. (Note from Jaime Rosas: sorry to interrupt folks, but Memoria was indeed composed for this album and it is based on reminiscences of those first rock n‘ roll years. Keep reading...). Memoria is an instrumental power ballad composed under the model of Satriani and Vai, and in fact, Rosas stays true to the original idea and lets guest guitarist Ignacio Ruiz occupy the central place.

The last 10 minutes of the album are occupied by the homonymous piece, which greatly summarizes the idea of progressive rock tribute. It has a prologue whose canvas is a series of minimalist keyboard layers and whose pieces consist of short excerpts from classics composed by ELP, Genesis, YES, Los Jaivas and others. The first theme is installed within a framework where Vangelis and Pink Floyd reminiscences bind, reflecting a cosmic landscape. The second theme expands on a hard-rock air which goes back to Deep Purple with some of the Danger Money UK, but that doesn’t last long because it takes us to a third part where the piece turns into a continually explored area by Rosas: the confluence of Wakeman’s the obsessive Baroque stylization and Emerson’s hard nerve. This section is the last, and fades out to a cyber arrangement a la Jean-Michel Jarre, plus a coda where our hero wakes up angry at the noise of the clock ... and it breaks it! A satirical reference to the character Pink while breaking its multitude of televisions in one of his many moments of madness raging in "The Wall"? Possibly, since the sense of humor has been one of the essential elements of this piece in the broadest terms. A very clever way to complete this album, just with a piece that individual recapitulates the heterogeneity unit mentioned in the first paragraph.

Flashback is, as a whole, a work that confirms the place that Jaime Rosas has as the central figure of keyboards in the South American progressive circuit. Highly Recommended!

Credits

It was 2006 when I had a rare illness that kept me in deep pain and almost paralized for several months. My normal life changed since I couldn't do what I love most: music and design. Those were complex and hopeless times, without knowing what to expect. Happily, there's always something or someone that helps and in this case, there was some music that deeply helped me, marking a before and an after: Plegaria (Prayer), the first track of Virgo, Jaime's first solo album (When we finally met, Jaime gave that record personally). Plegaria gave me the strength to carry on, opening my senses and being aware that this was a life test. Today Plegaria is an outstanding track of my life's soundtrack, a faithfull companion, a melody that helped me to grow and to believe.

Andrés Oreña

Jaime always manages to be treated like a rockstar. I remember that for En la Tierra's tour with Entrance in Mexico, we arrived to Torreon. While the rest of us went directly to the sound check, Jaime had a red convertible car waiting for him so he could reach in time to a music composition workshop he was giving. He arrived to the arena just in time for the gig, and everything was ready because we worked all afternoon. After the show he had the best room at the hotel... There are a lot of similar examples, he is often invited to play at radios shows, is interviewed on TV and his female fans are a plenty and very faithful.

Peace, rock n' roll and freedom!

Juan Barrenechea

Jaime Rosas is a trained and talented musician from Chile, who has been involved in several musical projects through his career. I could see him on stage some years ago at Baja Prog Fest with his band Entrance, but I did not know his solo work. So with some luck I could meet him some days ago, had a great talk and received his music which I have really enjoyed so far. So in this 2011 he released a new album, entitled 'Flashback' which reunites six compositions in which Jaime had been working in the past.

And I will quote him: 'It is a 'greatest hits' CD of never-recorded (and sometimes never- composed) music. During this process, I have rediscovered several worlds which I had previously abandoned, I have been able to discover new ones and it has been an excellent opportunity to meet old and new friends'. So with this, we can understand that it is a very personal album to him, which surely encourage him to finish it and make its high-quality songs. As I said, it comprises six compositions making a total time of 53 minutes. It starts with the longest and probably most complex and ambitious track, a 20-minute song entitled 'Primera Luz', in which we will listen to bombastic keyboards, fast-tempo rhythm, a wonderful and elaborated bass, and a constant drumming. Here we can easily appreciate the compositional and technical skills of Rosas, his Hammond solos are mind-blowing, they don't let you escape once you are inside the song.

The first half of the track is instrumental, with those fast moments full of keyboard explosions; while the second is calmer, with the introduction of a male voice, synthesizers creating background and a melancholic feeling. However, after 15 minutes the song changes and turns once again into a bombastic keyboard feast, creating the omniscient symphonic sound, but adding a kind of heavy-prog touch. What a wonderful way to start the album, I was impressed since the first time I listened to it, because it is really, really good.

'El principio del ritmo' highly contrasts with the previous one. Here you will find a delicate piano full of tranquility and peace, accompanied by a bass and a guitar, creating a relaxing and delicious jazzy song. It is nice how he decided to intercalate these two completely different songs, but someone said 'after the storm comes the calm'.

But don't say victory, because after that calmer song, Jaime Rosas returns once again with an explosive one. 'Buenos Momentos' begins fast and heavy, closer to symphonic metal, but what I like is that later a combination of styles appear, with the guitar the music sounds rockier, with the bass a bit funkier, and with the Hammond solos closer to the symphonic prog styles of old monsters such as Wakeman or Emerson. This is the shortest track, but an excellent one nonetheless.

Once again, a notable change in rhythm and mood. 'Lejos' begins with a soft guitar riff and seconds later vocals appear, creating a delicate and ballad-like track. The piano sound is warm and charming, the guitar emotional, however, after those first three outstanding tracks, this one sounds a bit weaker, which does not mean it is bad, not at all, it is only my least favorite song of the album.

'Memoria' is on the other hand, a favorite of mine. This is a six-minute instrumental song with a wonderful structure that little by little is involving you. Here I would like to highlight the guitar work, with constant riffs and a protagonist role, great work of Ignacio Ruiz. And of course, the keyboard playing of Rosas is once again excellent. This song is easy to love, with me it was like love at first sight, and every time I listen to I truly enjoy it.

Finally the title-track, 'Flashback' is the song that finishes the album, here we will have the last ten minutes of this journey to the past. And the song actually starts like that, with all those noises, I imagine being inside one's mind and getting loads of memories for a split second, something really fast. But later the song calms down and I still imagine the memories, but this time in a state of tranquility and relaxation. In the CD booklet we can see a collage of images, which in my opinion reflects what this particular track shares. After some minutes that tranquility disappears and a sort of chaotic electronic sound appears, reminding me a bit of Tangerine Dream, but with some orchestral arrangements that put a different and own sound. Excellent final song!

What a great album by Jaime Rosas, with works like this, his music will surely reach more people and get positive criticism. I highly recommend it. Easily, four stars.

Enjoy it!

Jaime Rosas is a very talented keyboardist from Chile who gained quite good reputation while playing in progressive metal band - Entrance. However not too many people know that he also recorded few solo albums (sometimes under Jaime Rosas Trio or Jaime Rosas Cuarteto moniker) where he showed completely different face - symphonic prog "wizard". While first 2 albums of this artist - "Virgo" and "Extremos", where a bit too modern, electronic sounding for me, Jaime turned into more retro-prog direction from his 3rd studio output - "Creciendo" and even more bombastic, concert recording - "Viajero Astral ?Live in Brazil". However those last two albums were more in the vain of Japanese bands like Gerard or Ars Nova which mix razor-sharp organ riffs with modern, digital synthesizers, the new born "child" of Rosas called "Flashback" sounds even more faithful to ELP style of prog thanks to similar approach to the music and devotion to good, old Hammond organ all the way through (compared with previous stuff Jaime rarely uses synthesizers on "Flashback"). And as an ELP - and in general Hammond-driven prog - fan I have to admit that I love this album!

So let's check all 6 tracks included on this disk:

1. "Primera luz" - album begins with definitely the strongest composition - 20 minutes long suite called "Primera luz". This track is a really orgy of mindblowing Hammond organ solos & other ultra-fast passages played in absolutely virtuosic manner. Overall style and those percussion organ effects makes it like XXI century version of ELP's "Tarkus" but treating it like a simple copy would be very unjust for Rosas as he also managed to mix many other influences as in few slower fragments we can also hear some Rick Wakeman inspired synthesizer moments and in many ways "Primera luz" was also clearly influenced by another South American group - "Nexus". As I mentioned, hard-hitting organ is a dominant instrument here but synthesizers (often Moog-like sounding, but I think all gear of Rosas is in fact digital, I'm not sure) and piano surely aren't absent too, so in general it's a real prog heaven for such keyboards-driven music aficionados like me. I'd like to add that just like "Tarkus", this epic is mostly instrumental but in the middle there are also a brief vocal sections of Jaime Scalpello (in Spanish language) which are quite nice and touching. I want to stress that drums and bass work are competent too, but Jaime's pyrotechnics are so astonishing that you hardly think about other things than his keyboards. In the end I need to point one more thing: ultra memorable section which begins from 15:20 minute. This overwhelming, almost Gothic-like Hammond melody is simply fantastic. I have goose bumps everytime I hear this grandiose part. It's this kind of stuff I always loved in Par Lind Project's (contemporary Swedish symphonic-prog band) music! Seems that if Jaime will manage to record more of such albums, he have a chance to replace Par Lindh's position of the most talented prog-rock keyboardist in XXI century. Brilliant!

2. "El principio del ritmo" - another track let as catch a breath after restless keyboards extravaganza of ""Primera luz". This time we can enjoy very sober, delicate smooth-jazz composition with simple instrumentation: acoustic piano + relaxed sounding electric guitar. Nothing midblowing but it's a good rest after first 20 minutes of "Flashback". And surely it's very original for this artist.

3. "Buenos momentos" - Jaime and his friends come back to bombastic style! This time Javier Sepulveda provides lots of heavy guitar riffs which blend perfectly with Rosas' swirling organs. Electric guitar makes "Buenos momentos" sound a bit more like Entrance music, but thanks to dominating keyboards we're still sure that it's true symphonic style here (however mixed with heavy prog and prog-metal). Once again I want to praise Jaime for his ear-shuttering Hammond sounds here, they truly cut the air like a hatchet! I think that he listened to Nexus music a lot before recording this composition, and Moti Sakuraba could be another strong influence here. By the way, Moog fragments are also amazing here!

4. "Lejos" - if I had to pick up the weakest track on "Flashback" it would be this one. It's just a soft ballad with pre-dominant acoustic guitar, piano and discreet digital synthesizers in the background. Rodrigo Godoy's voice is surely nice, but in general this song doesn't bring me any emotions I'm afraid. Average.

5. "Memoria" - after slightly dull song called "Lejos", comes much better instrumental "Memoria". While first half sounds similar to Pink Floyd (Gilmour inspired guitar soloing of Ignacio Ruiz), in the middle we have a great Hammond solo in the vain of Rick Wakeman's performance in "Close to the Edge". After that guitar kick in again and smoothly lead as to the end of the song.

6. "Flashback" - the last composition seems to be an epic, but in fact it sounds more like a collage of different music ideas. Especially the beginning is quite mysterious and experimental in its nature. There are different famous melodies of 70s prog-rock giants played on Hammond organ (in one point you can even hear a brief part of Jon Lord's organ solo from "Child in Time"!) which are buried under much louder soundscapes built by digital synthesizers. After that there is atmospheric, slow-tempo section with angelic-choir-like synth-background and "lazy" keyboard "plumping". I'd say that it's quite similar to J.M.Jarre's or Vangelis' progressive-electronic style. But from 5th minute composition picks up the tempo significantly and we enter grandiose fanfare-synthesizers created symphonic wall of sound, which is quickly followed by unbelievably dynamic organ soloing in the vain of the best moments of Keith Emerson! Track finishes with a couple of minutes of baroque-like symphonic prog a la Rick Wakeman, but in the end there is a very humorous oddity as we hear alarm clock and angry yell of suddenly awaken guy! Seems he just had a dream about good, old 70s prog-rock and some God-damned alarm woke him up :-).

In general, "Flashback" is a fantastic recording which is a must have for all fans of retro symphonic progressive rock music, rooted deeply in 70s. In fact, I have to admit that while this kind of style may be "an art just for art" for many people, for me it's still a classic 'cos I'm a big admirer of keyboards-led prog and nothing will change it! That's why (so far...) 4th studio recording of Jaime Rosas immediately became by favorite album of this (2011) year. And I don't care if elitists of modern music call it "regressive"...

There's a long list of bands I can compare with Jaime Rosas, like: ELP, Trace, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Sixty-Nine, The Nice, Duncan Mackay, Trikolon or Quill, and their modern "imitators" like Par Lindh Project, Nexus, Little Tragedies, Survival, Gerard, Ars Nova, Social Tension and early Combination Head.

Best tracks: "Primera luz" and "Buenos momentos"

Full-blown 5 stars from ozzy_tom

1999 - 2011