Chad Jasmine is one of a kind. The former vocalist for the National People's Gang in California incorporates more than musical instruments in one of his shows.

A classic Jasmine show could easily translate more into performance art on occasions with fruit and other strange non-musical items finding their niche in the shows. Fruit – like honeydew, cantaloupes and apples – is generally used "to break down the barrier between performer and audience,"Chad once said. "I've always loved to share fruit with people because you can't go wrong when you share fruit."

There didn't appear to be any fruit on stage with Jasmine and the rest of the band last month for the release of the band's debut CD, The Greatest of Ease. There was no need.

The CD release party, held Sept 24 at Dash Riprocks, was a small intimate affair with the loyal order of die-hard 'Chad fans' in attendance. You could spot them easily in a crowd of thousands. They are the ones swaying, eyes closed, with the music, mouthing every word in time with Jasmine as he goes through his musical repertoire of abilities, both vocal and instrumental. The crowds will get bigger as Jasmine and company inevitably do the same. The Greatest of Ease is destined to catapult these local favorites into the big time.

Jasmine is no stranger to critical acclaim. He has been hailed as "enthralling" by the Austin Cronicle and a "grabbing force" by the Los Angeles Times. The contortions of body and voice radiate through Jasmine's cerebral and poetic lyrics.

He is a man of several faces, a constantly swinging pendulum of soft jazzy melodies and pure angst-ridden funk frustrated punk. His expressions mirror his voice. His movements reflect the music.

The Greatest of Ease demonstrates each of Jasmine's masks in harmonious accord with the band, featuring keyboardist Kip Kolb, bass and lead guitarist, Scott Borland and drummer Greg Isabelle. Jasmine fills in the blanks with brilliant command of the guitar, harmonica and saxophone.

In each track of The Greatest of Ease, a different instrument is given center stage. Kolb's fingers demand attention at the piano on the third track, "No Love." Jasmine's harmonica can be heard on "In Memories," the sixth track from TGOE which also demonstrates Jasmine's amazing vocal capabilities.

The fourth track, whose title contains one of the CD's few minor four letter words, takes on a light Calypso beat supplied by Isabelle while "Colours" and "Stupid Jazz" both stick to a traditional jazz format with a little Jasmine sprinkled in for flavor.

The final track of the CD, "Four Long Days," is an appropriate climax. At almost 11 minutes in length "Four Long Days" is an instrumental masterpiece that the rest of the CD seems to build up to. The sheer ability of these four your musicians shines through in this piece, sending the listener reeling into an almost figure-like state. There are very few CD's that most people can claim to listen from start to finish. The Greatest of Ease is definitely one to top that list: To quote Jasmine's lyrics in "Stupid Jazz," he breathes, "you don't know me, but you should."

By: Liza Van Arsdale - Music writer