Peter
Ehwald (tenor & soprano saxophones), Arthur Lea (Fender
(Review by Russell).
Cerca is Paragon’s third CD since forming a decade ago. Bandleaders
Peter Ehwald and Arthur Lea wrote music independently of one another in advance
of a two-day recording session in Cologne .
Ten tracks made it onto the album and Lea’s agitated Fender Rhodes leads on the
opening Cerca de Ti. Co-leader Ehwald
enters on upper register tenor as Jon Scott keeps the nu-swing tempo rattling
along.
Ehwald’s East to West is a short, reflective piece; breathy reeds ceding to
the precise bass pattern laid down by Matthias Novak. Delhi
Brevity is the watchword on this
recording (hearing the band live is to hear them develop a piece and stretch
out); concise, polished, punchy statements. Blue
Eyes White Dragon dances along courtesy of Scott and Novak with Ehwald’s
fluent soprano suggesting this is his most interesting instrument. Lea’s
elegant Fat Pig is certainly a
misnomer with its stately, elegiac quality. The final three tracks are Ehwald
compositions – North to South, Linguine
and Ballade. Lea’s keyboards on Linguine suggest a liking for seventies’
jazz-rock popularised by Return to Forever. Ballade
is the go-home encore number, the party over, the pyrotechnics done.
Cerca is released on
October 13. Paragon’s UK
tour starts on October 28 in Newcastle London
(October 31) at Jazz Live @ The Crypt and further dates take the quartet into
November.
Cerca is released on Jellymould Jazz (JM-JJ014).
Russell.
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