Album Liner Notes
Timezone
Timezone sits next to Tvær Systur and Mellow in the Magnússon discography as another mid-1980s record where Jeff Berlin's bass is part of a deliberate ensemble picture rather than a single-bassist session.
Overview
Shared bass credits can read like bookkeeping, but here they are part of the sonic design: two credited bassists on the same album frame, anchored by Colaiuta and Landau in a very 1986 fusion language.
The set list balances Magnússon originals with a Wayne Shorter cover ('Footprints'), which helps place the record in the jazz-rock lineage without making it a standards date.
When you compare pressings, the track-title inconsistencies are worth keeping straight. Discogs documents the German label omission for B3 and the misspelling note on B4 for the German edition, while the US edition uses different spellings for the Caribbean-title track.
Quick Snapshot
- Released in 1986 on Optimism Incorporated as GBJ 2002 (Germany LP and matching US LP pressing documented on Discogs).
- The core band credits repeat across pressings: Jakob Magnússon on keyboards; Jeff Berlin and Steve Anderson on bass; Vinnie Colaiuta on drums; Michael Landau on guitar; Steve Tavaglione on saxophone; Michael Fisher and Steve Forman on percussion.
- Pressing trivia matters for reading the sleeve: the German LP leaves side B track 3 untitled on the label while the US LP titles it 'Sunburn,' and the closing title is spelled 'Caribbean Rhapsody' on some labels with a known 'Rhabsody' typo variant.
Shared bass architecture
Berlin and Anderson are both credited on bass across the album, not on alternating songs in the Discogs band block.
Heavyweight drums and guitar
Colaiuta and Landau give the record a serious Los Angeles session fingerprint alongside Tavaglione's saxophone voice.
Label variants
German and US Optimism pressings disagree slightly on how track B3 and B4 are printed on the sleeve.
Listen For
Bangkok
Opens the LP with the album's travel-title energy and the full band credit stack.
Footprints
The Shorter piece gives the program a recognizable jazz anchor among Magnússon's originals.
Sunburn
Credited on the US LP with soloist mentions for Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Clarke in Discogs notes for some editions; the German LP leaves this slot untitled on the label.
Track Listing
- A1. Bangkok — 4:41
- A2. Two Sisters — 3:25
- A3. Time Zone — 5:04
- B1. Footprints — 3:30
- B2. Rough Water — 5:12
- B3. Sunburn — 3:53
- B4. Caribbean Rhapsody — 3:45
Musicians
- Jakob Magnússon: keyboards
- Jeff Berlin: bass (shared album credit)
- Steve Anderson: bass (shared album credit)
- Vinnie Colaiuta: drums
- Michael Landau: guitar
- Steve Tavaglione: saxophone
- Michael Fisher: percussion
- Steve Forman: percussion
Technical Credits
- Original issue: Optimism Incorporated GBJ 2002 (Germany LP, 1986; US LP listed on Discogs)
- Lacquer cut: SST Brüggemann GmbH (Germany pressing cited on Discogs)