Tommy Andrews (alto/clt); Nick Costley-White (gtr); Rick
Simpson (pno); Dave Manington (bs); Dave Hamblett (dms).
(Review by Steve
H.)
This debut album from up and coming
reeds player Tommy Andrews is a fine effort. Andrews, whose interests outside
music are particle physics and rock climbing, incorporates these twin
themes into many of his compositions. I haven’t met the guy but he comes over as a cross between Professor Brian Cox, Chris Bonnington
and the late Patrick Moore.
The album begins gently as we are lulled into Sirens. The focal point of this piece is a fine piano solo from
Rick Simpson. Andrews himself leads off both my favourite and the title track The Crux which is dedicated to Higgs Boson
pioneer Peter Higgs. A core theme runs throughout featuring both guitar and
piano solos, while a rousing
mid section really sets the tone for the remainder of the song as the whole
ensemble led by Andrews on sax really gives us some particle
acceleration. A gentle bass intro heralds the melancholic Crystal Car before
another strong sax solo takes over. Mr Skinny Legs refers to the name given to spiders by
Andrews’ 3 year old nephew; this tune again builds nicely around its recurring theme. L.H.B doesn’t refer to Left
Hand Bat as I thought but to Late Heavy Bombardment which is a term used to
describe the period in history when a large number of asteroids collided with
various planets. The piece begins quietly before culminating in the
astronomical manner of the title. Toscana (Sirens Pt II) is a haunting
rolling piece with again piano and sax at its core. Steep provides a fitting up-tempo finale
leaving the listener pleasantly satisfied with the entire album.
Steve H.
No comments :
Post a Comment