A Dave O'Higgins' album is alway a treat. Whether with Mrs O'Higgins, the Brothers Brubeck or a top class rhythm section such as we have here the end result is always one that you can confidently splash the cash on, safe in the knowledge that you won't be demanding your money back the next day.
At one time it was fashionable to say that certain British musicians were world class even though that world may not have extended much further than Frith St.
Today, that world is borderless and Dave O'Higgins, like so many UK musicians, is finding that jazz these days is much more of a level playing field.
O'Higgins has a great tenor sound, the kind of sound that Hank Mobley had in abundance and that Stan Getz may have had had he recorded with a Blue Note rhythm section or, come to that, with these three guys!
Harvey, Brown and Morrison have appeared with O'Higgins at the 606 and those sessions that I heard via livestreams whetted my appetite for this album of standards and originals - two by O'Higgins* and one each from Harvey,** Morrison*** and Brown****.
Referring to playing standards, Harvey explained: "The tradition of jazz provides an infinite horizon to experiment and create. Just as a Bach fugue is open to a myriad of creative interpretations, so is the blues or a great standard".
One thing is sure, these four guys have a multi-myriad of creative interpretations in their communal and individual bag of tricks.
If I had to choose but one moment in the album it would be O'Higgins' out of tempo reading of the verse to More Than You Know. It's pure magic but, then again, so is Harvey's piano solo on the same tune.
Highly recommended, swinging post-bop jazz for anyone with ears for the truth. Lance
Available Sept. 10 Ubuntu Music UBU0094. Try/Buy.
I Wish I Knew: Chlo-e (Song of the Swamp); That's What You're Gonna Get (***); Mesa ((****); Tropical Paradise (*); Segment; More Than You Know; That's the Way to Live! (**); Stir Crazy (*); Autumn Nocturne.
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