(Review by Lance).Oneiric means dreamlike and there is an ethereal, almost soporific feel to this interesting album.
Bailey composed all 14 pieces as well as playing some tasty guitar. It's a game of two halves or rather two suites, one featuring Norwegian bass legend Arild Andersen and the other the amazing saxophonist Julian Argüelles.
Based in the northwest, Bailey teaches guitar at the University of Liverpool and some of the ensemble writing has a distinct northern brass band feel about it. This unusual dimension certainly makes categorisation a problem.
The themes are explorative, the improvisations, well executed and the integration of the strings add to the abstract quality that pervades overall. Somehow, it didn't feel like a jazz album. Harmony, melody and rhythm - those 3 items some of our readers cherish most dearly - are there although not always at the same time. The soprano sax sounds almost oboe-like which, coupled with the strings, suggests that we're in some no man's land 'twixt contemporary classical music and the world of the avant-garde. Perhaps the oft-quoted Sound of Surprise has rarely been more appropriate.
Those who heard the John Bailey Quintet at the Jazz Café a couple of years back will certainly want to check this out and those who weren't there might be pleasantly surprised.
Lance.
Currently available on Outhouse 003.
Arild Andersen (bass); John Bailey (guitar/compositions); Richard Iles (flugel); Tim France (tenor); Richard Kass (drums); Simon Chalk (violin); Mark Chivers (viola); Nick Stringfellow (cello).
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Julian Argüelles (soprano); John Bailey ( guitar/compositions); Richard Iles (flugel); Tim France (tenor); Garry Jackson (bass); Eryl Roberts (drums); Simon Chalk (violin); Mark Chivers (viola); Nick Stringfellow (cello).
The themes are explorative, the improvisations, well executed and the integration of the strings add to the abstract quality that pervades overall. Somehow, it didn't feel like a jazz album. Harmony, melody and rhythm - those 3 items some of our readers cherish most dearly - are there although not always at the same time. The soprano sax sounds almost oboe-like which, coupled with the strings, suggests that we're in some no man's land 'twixt contemporary classical music and the world of the avant-garde. Perhaps the oft-quoted Sound of Surprise has rarely been more appropriate.
Those who heard the John Bailey Quintet at the Jazz Café a couple of years back will certainly want to check this out and those who weren't there might be pleasantly surprised.
Lance.
Currently available on Outhouse 003.
Arild Andersen (bass); John Bailey (guitar/compositions); Richard Iles (flugel); Tim France (tenor); Richard Kass (drums); Simon Chalk (violin); Mark Chivers (viola); Nick Stringfellow (cello).
-----
Julian Argüelles (soprano); John Bailey ( guitar/compositions); Richard Iles (flugel); Tim France (tenor); Garry Jackson (bass); Eryl Roberts (drums); Simon Chalk (violin); Mark Chivers (viola); Nick Stringfellow (cello).
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