George Colligan (piano); Darren Beckett (drums); David Redmond (bass).
(Review by Lance)
Jazz piano is in good hands, if you'll pardon the pun, with George Colligan. The 2015 DownBeat Critics Poll winner can evoke the spirit of Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson whilst at the same time not be averse to the influence of contemporary players such as Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner
Recorded live in the Arklow Methodist Church as part of the 2015 Bray Jazz Festival, the one hour set of six tracks includes three Colligan originals, Freddie Hubbard's Up Jumped Spring, Carlos Lyra's The Influence of Jazz and Cole Porter's What is This Thing Called Love?
The latter tune is taken at an elegiac tempo that emphasises the rich harmonic foundation of the piece. The Lyra tune is a sprightly samba that has all three musicians going for it as indeed they do throughout. The three originals demonstrate just how good a composer Colligan is. Usain, surely inspired by the great runner, is played at a tempo that even Mr. Bolt couldn't outrun although these three guys could. Up Jumped Spring is as good a jazz waltz as any. It's been a long time since I heard it and now I can't get it out of head - as if I'd want to!
The two remaining tracks - Lost on 4th Avenue and Again with Attitude once again demonstrate the versatility of the three musicians - equal contributors to the end product.
In the notes Colligan says: "Everything was in sync on this night. I hope you can feel that magic when you listen."
We can George, we most certainly can!
Lance.
Available on April 3 on Ubuntu Records UBU0055.
No comments :
Post a Comment