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Christian Brewer Quintet

Seesaw

Basho SRCD 16-2

Although justly celebrated as a wholly dependable and versatile sideman, adept at producing funk- and groove-oriented music, not to mention reggae, Christian Brewer is, as this wholly jazz-based album proves, also a superb bandleader, his quintet (pianist Leon Greening, vibes player Jim Hart, bassist Phil Donkin and drummer Tristan Mailliot) producing a particularly powerful brand of post-bop.

Six of the eight tracks here are in-band originals, the other two being Monk's 'Let's Cool One' (taken at an easy lope, but retaining much of the original's spiky eccentricity) and Mingus's 'Duke Ellington's Sound of Love' (an achingly lovely melody well suited to Brewer's burnished alto tone).

The band's compositions are attractive, punchy and immediately accessible, ranging from the bustling Brewer/Greening opener 'Thanks but No Thanks' to Hart's dual-paced 'So You Said', but whatever tempo they're operating at, the quintet produce bright, vigorous but skilfully nuanced music, Hart's vibes in particular combining with the leader's alternately glowing and driving alto to impart an attractive textural variety to the album's overall sound.

Greening, too, is a sparkling, robust soloist, his lengthy lines imbuing the music with enjoyable tension; the rhythm section is sparky, propulsive yet dynamically controlled throughout.

Overall, an assured, consistently entertaining album from one of the UK's most exciting composer/leaders.