(Review by JC)
I am a big fan of jazz guitarists,
particularly when they play acoustic guitar as well, and so was keen to listen
to this album. Thomas Maintz is a Danish guitarist whose last album This is the Colour.. .released in 2009
garnered many positive reviews and was nominated for 'Best Danish Jazz Album'
at the Danish Music Awards. This latest recording Present was made in New
York
Ten of the twelve tracks are written by
Maintz, and the other two are Very Early
by Bill Evans (which gets a rather meagre running time of 2.51) and If I Should Lose You by Robin/Rainger
(allocated a more generous 6.58).
All the members of the trio are clearly
excellent musicians and they give the album a highly polished quality. Maintz
produces many melodic runs and plenty of warm chordal backing but only on some
of the tracks did I feel that the music moved up a gear. One of the most
successful is New York Butterfly
where Maintz plays with more attack and the bass and drums demonstrate their
jazz chops as well. The Bill Evans tune, Very
Early, is another fine piece - short but perfectly formed - and Secret Hallway, which is dedicated to
Jim Hall (who is clearly a big influence), has a rich mellowness and much of
Hall's expressive qualities. Interestingly the bass player Scott Colley, has
also played with Hall.
On the acoustic tracks, Maintz plays a
baritone guitar, which the notes say 'gives the compositions a dark, warm
sound' and this is undoubtedly true. The tone and texture of these tracks is
delicious but the pacing is quite slow and sometimes I would have liked a more
dynamic quality in the guitar playing.
Rightly, everyone in the trio gets plenty
of opportunity to demonstrate their considerable musical abilities and Scott
Colley embellishes many of the tracks with fine solo touches. But it is the
drumming of Jonathan Blake that really stands out. No matter what is happening
around him he continually produces a range of exquisitely timed and perfectly
appropriate fills and trills, whizzes and fizzes, rings, dings and kerchings,
bips, bops and bams which are constantly inventive and engaging.
Present is released by Beach Farm
Records in collaboration with Gateway.
JC.
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