Jason Rebello – keyboards, bass,
backing vocals; Troy Miller – drums, guitar, percussion; Pino Palladino – bass; Karl Rasheed-Abel – acoustic bass; Paul Stacey – guitar; Jeremy Stacey –
drums; George Rebello – drums; Miles Bould – percussion; Tim Garland – flute,
bass clarinet.
Guest vocalists – Joy Rose, Omar,
Jacob Collier, Xantone Blacq, Will Downing, Sumudu Jayatilaka, Alicia Carroll,
Aja Downing.
(Review by
Debra M.)
Since his
emergence in the late 1980’s, pianist Jason Rebello’s musical versatility has
taken him all over the world, playing and recording with mainstream artists
such as Sting, Jeff Beck and Peter Gabriel.
‘Anything But Look’, an album of soul infused jazz, pulls
together his many influences, and
features his new trio of Karl Rasheed-Abel on acoustic bass & Troy Miller on drums, plus a host
of guests.
Opening with the funky ‘Know What You Need’, Omar’s
warm rich tones fit right into the
groove. In the following ‘Man
On The Train’, the lighter,
sweeter voice of Sumudu
Jayatilawa tells the tale of a middle
aged commuter fascinated by a beautiful young woman on a train, literally a
vehicle for reflection on the outward
signs of ageing, masking the inner
youthful soul. Well we might have heard
that story before, but probably not with this combination of musical
charm and lyrical poignance. The melodic, groove filled pieces give
plenty of scope for Rebello’s
improvisation, underpinned by tight dynamic arrangements, pivotal to which are Troy Miller on drums (who
also produced & mixed the album) and
bassists Karl Rasheed-Abel and Pino Palladino.
A recurring device is Rebello’s use of vocal and keyboard
melodic lines in unison, particularly effective in the time
signature shifting ‘In The Thick Of It’,
where Jacob Collier’s voice is used
entirely instrumentally. Two of the tracks were composed with guest vocalists;
the single release ‘New Joy , sung and co-written by Joy Rose, is a slow funky number,
and also includes Tim Garland on bass clarinet. The second is the
potential floor filler ‘Lighten
Up The Load’ featuring Xantone
Blacq, which has a Latin feel with
layered grooves and rhythms, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder around the time of
‘Songs in The Key of Life’. In contrast, the jazz rocks in ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’ featuring the operatic Alicia Carroll, and ‘With Immediate Effect’ , the latter with Jeremy Stacey on drums
and Paul Stacey on guitar.
Rebello’s career so far has been
diverse and accomplished, but in his return to
his own compelling jazz project
‘Anything But Look’ he has
created an outstanding album .
CD available from www.jasonrebello.co.uk
Debra M.
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