The Atacama Experience is an album by French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Jazz-Fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty

Jean-Luc Ponty

Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...

, released in 2007. It reached number 24 on Billboard's

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

 Top Jazz Albums chart, Ponty's first charting album since 1997's Live at Chene Park

Live at Chene Park

Live at Chene Park is a live album by French Jazz-Fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1996.- Track listing :All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty.# "Introduction" – 0:48# "Infinite Pursuit" – 7:47# "Tender Memories" – 7:12# "Between Sea and Sky" – 5:50...

. It is his first studio album in six years.

The album personnel consists of Ponty's regular touring band with guest appearances by guitarists Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...

 (on track 4) and Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....

 (on tracks 2, 5 & 12).

The title refers to the Atacama Desert

Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...

 on the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Sadly, in the first edition of the album, the name Acatama was used by mistake.

Critical reception

Critical reception of The Atacama Experience was generally favorable. Michael G. Nastos states in his Allmusic review, "Considering Ponty's most recent work, rife with world or Afrocentric mishmashes or even further back mired in dense, overwashed electronic synth muck, this recording is not only a welcome change of pace, but a return to the great music that made Ponty an important figure in contemporary music. This one is recommended with no hesitation, and is the brilliant violinist's best effort in nearly 30 years." In his All About Jazz

All About Jazz

All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...

review, John Kelman called it "...a welcome return to form. Thoroughly engaging, it possesses the enduring compositional depth and unmistakable solo acumen that's kept Ponty's name alive, even during years when he's been away from the public eye."

Track listing

All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty unless otherwise noted.

1. "Intro" – 0:15
2. "Parisian Thoroughfare" (Bud Powell
   Bud Powell
   Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
   
   ) – 4:39
3. "Premonition" – 3:43
4. "Point of No Return" – 6:45
5. "Back in the 60's" – 4:03
6. "Without Regrets" – 4:29
7. "Celtic Steps" – 5:52
8. "Desert Crossing" – 3:03
9. "Last Memories of Her" – 5:21
10. "The Atacama Experience" – 2:01
11. "On My Way to Bombay" – 4:32
12. "Still in Love" – 5:07
13. "Euphoria" (William Lecomte) – 4:49
14. "To and Fro" – 4:21

Personnel

• Jean-Luc Ponty
  Jean-Luc Ponty
  Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
  
   – violin, keyboards, synthesizer, effects
• William Lecomte – piano, keyboards
• Guy N'Sangue – bass
• Thierry Arpino – drums
• Allan Holdsworth
  Allan Holdsworth
  Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...
  
   – guitar
• Philip Catherine
  Philip Catherine
  Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....
  
  – guitar
• Taffa Cissé – percussion

Production notes:

• Jean-Luc Ponty – producer, engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Karim Sai – engineer, mixing
• David Wilkes – A&R
• Claudia Ponty – cover photo
• Kimberly Wright – photography
• Frederic Houis – photography
• Jacky Lepage – photography

Year	Chart	Position
2007	Billboard Top Jazz Albums	24