Loz Speyer (trumpet/flugel); Chris Biscoe (alto/alto clarinet); Rachel Musson (tenor/soprano); Olie Brice (bass); Gary Wilcox (drtums).
(Review by Lance).
I read the notes and, my first reaction was to send it off to one of our more outré reviewers, but, upon listening, I was hooked. Sure, they broke camp but didn't commit any musical atrocities - pet shop owners can sleep safely in their beds. Speyer's both introvert and extrovert according to the mood. At times, beautifully lyrical whilst, at others he can be fiercely aggressive. Both work. Briscoe has long been an unsung journeyman of modern jazz, by which I'm talking Parker to Ornette and all stations in-between. He can handle the gig whatever it is and I apologise for 'journeyman'. Listening to Snakes and Ladders, Master Craftsman is a more appropriate description.
Masson blows good tenor and the contrapuntal moments when the horns venture just over the edge make me think that if ODJB had arrived 100 years later they may have sounded like this.
Olie Brice has long been a lynchpin of the contemporary scene and he keeps it all together whilst Wilcox makes his presence felt throughout.
Speyer wrote all the pieces and, surely, is a must if voting in the Talent Deserving Wider Recognition (or whatever Down Beat calls it these days) Polls - trumpet, composer, arranger, group etc.
Lance.
Available February 1, on Leo Records
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