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CHRIS BISCOE QUARTET: Gone In The Air: The Music Of Eric Dolphy Chris Biscoe: alto sax
alto clarinet, alto flute Tracks: 1. Serene (Eric Dolphy) 5.43 |
BBC double award winner Tony Kofi joins Chris Biscoe in an exploration of the musical legacy of reeds virtuoso Eric Dolphy. Gone In The Air features arrangements specially developed for this quartet with music written by Eric Dolphy, and tunes from Oliver Nelson, Fats Waller and Monk which he recorded. REVIEWS Chris Biscoe, with fellow saxophonist Tony Kofi, bassist Larry Bartley
and drummer Stu Butterfield, succeed amazingly well in entering Dolphy’s
remarkable musical universe via nine themes which he recorded, plus one
Dolphyesque free improvisation. The late Eric Dolphy would have been 80 this year and this magnificent
recording is Chris Biscoe's tribute to a remarkable talent. .... he's
chosen a delightful programme of Dolphy's compositions plus Jitterbug
Waltz and Stolen Moments which Dolphy also recorded. The playing is spot
on. Great sleeve notes. I hope this will be a winner. Big, robust soloing from Biscoe and Kofi, with great support from Bartley
and Butterfield. These guys are swinging hard. It’s an honest tribute
to Eric Dolphy and the music is played with passion and authenticity. Biscoe’s ability to bridge sound worlds as different as Evan Parker’s
and Charlie Parker’s makes him one of the most formidable European
saxophonists... ....a contemporary quartet devotedly rooted in advanced
bebop, but so clamorously enjoying it that the music sounds remarkably
new. Dolphy classics from the Outward Bound and Out to Lunch albums are
here, but also sizzling versions of covers he liked playing, including
Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments and Fats Waller’s Jitterbug
Waltz. That splendid saxophonist Chris Biscoe takes the music of his idol,
Eric Dolphy, as the programme for this tremendously enjoyable CD. He's
joined by altoist Tony Kofi in the front-line of a pianoless quartet
pushed along with zest by bassist Larry Bartley and drummer Stu Butterfield.
The exchanges between Biscoe and Kofi crackle with intelligence and invention.
This is jazz of real fire and drive, and performances of Serene, with
its astonishing solo opening from Biscoe, Out to Lunch and Stolen Moments
have much to savour. This tribute album led by the reliably excellent Biscoe .... evokes
a characteristic Dolphy world both by covering some of his most well-known
tunes, and through the quartet’s on the- edge-of-free but still
boppy ensemble vibe. Spirits of adventure infuse this release…. Biscoe and Kofi complement
each other wonderfully. Stu Butterfield.....and bassist Larry Bartley
have to perform the delicate task of underpinning the music without gluing
it down, and this they do brilliantly. A most enjoyable disc. |
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