The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Enquiries 020 7993 3643 | Email Info at Vortex

CD reviews

New cd releases

 

Browse CD reviews

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 

Join the Vortex
email list

To receive monthly gig details, news and ticket offers.



RSS feeds

For news, gig and CD reviews and information about the club.

Click on the link below to get the subscribe address
Vortex news

For more informaton about RSS see the
RSS help pages

Mark O'Leary/Cuong Vu/Tom Rainey

Waiting

Leo Records CD LR 475

Inspired by the work of Samuel Beckett, and released to mark the centenary of the great man's birth, Waiting contains nine free improvisations spun from the spontaneous interaction of three of the most compelling operators in the field: guitarist Mark O'Leary, trumpeter Cuong Vu and drummer Tom Rainey.

The pieces range from floating meditations involving acoustic guitar and ethereal, echo-ey trumpet; through more abstract pieces utilising trumpet squirts and lip-smacks, plus judiciously selected electronics; to the odd full-blooded piece featuring O'Leary's fiercely slithering electric guitar and Vu's strident trumpet.

Although clearly improvised, the trio's music does very occasionally slip into little squirly motifs; for the most part, though, it consists of exploratory trio interplay in which Rainey plays the binding role, seeking out the subtlest means of accentuating the pieces' (often fleeting) inherent rhythms, emphasising here, embellishing there, and generally propelling the music so that it compels and retains the attention.

A thoughtful and absorbing album, full of startling textural and dynamic contrasts.