Jean-Luc Ponty: Jean-Luc Ponty; William Lecomte (keyboards); Thierry Arpino, Taffa Ciss‚, Guy Nsangu‚ Akwa.

Personnel: Jean-Luc Ponty (violin, keyboards, synthesizer); Allan Holdsworth, Philip Catherine (guitar); William Lecomte (piano, keyboards); Guy Nsangu‚ Akwa (electric bass); Thierry Arpino (drums); Taffa Ciss‚ (percussion).

Additional personnel: Allan Holdsworth, Philip Catherine.

Audio Mixer: Karim Sai.

Recording information: Enigmatic Studio; Studio Meudon; Studio Pigalle, France.

Author: Jean-Luc Ponty.

Photographers: Frederic Houis; Jacky Lepage; Kimberly Wright.

Arranger: William Lecomte.

Starting in the 1970s, Jean Luc Ponty brought the violin (both acoustic and electrified) to the forefront of fusion (and occasionally rock & roll) through his work with Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin, as well as with combos of his own. (Before that, he was a fixture on the European jazz scene.) With THE ACTAMA EXPERIENCE, Ponty proves he's not resting on past achievements. He's assembled a band with two fusion heavyweights, Frenchman Philip Catherine and Brit Alan Holdsworth, for a varied program of music inspired by the South American desert of the title.

JazzTimes (p.106) - "THE ACATAMA EXPERIENCE largely recalls the latest 30-year phase, during which Ponty transformed himself from an important cog to the wheel itself."