Gig reviews by Chris Parker

Chris Biscoe Quartet

Thursday 2 July 2009

Although so-called 'tribute bands' can all too easily become exercises in pure nostalgia, in thoughtful hands, they can also cast valuable light into the obscurer corners of a great artist's music, enabling listeners to form a more accurate, rounded picture of a musical career than that prevailing, which is frequently contingent on fashion, both artistic and political. See the complete review.

New CD reviews by Chris Parker

Sara Colman  Ready

'A genuine feel for the elasticity and playfulness of swing phrasing and a true improviser's art' are the qualities Ian Shaw admires in Sara Colman's singing, and anyone who attended her recent Vortex gig would no doubt agree with him. She also has an excellent ear for a good rock/pop song, one that might profit from a jazz version, and thus begins her album with three such: the Rafferty/Egan (Stealer's Wheel) classic, 'Stuck in the Middle with You' (the intoxicated muddle of which she conveys wittily but tastefully); 'How Do You Stop' (a song written for James Brown by the late Dan Hartman, which resurfaced on a relatively recent Joni Mitchell album); and Walter Becker's pungent 'Book of Liars'.

Alyn Cosker  Lyn's Une

Courtney Pine is quoted on the sleeve of this album, describing Alyn Cosker as 'a fantastic drummer who plays with a lot of heart, swing and passion', and the twelve tracks on it all thoroughly justify this praise. Cosker's bandmates – saxophonists Tommy Smith and Paul Towndrow, trumpeter Ryan Quigley, pianist Jason Rebello, guitarist David Dunsmuir and bassist Ross Hamilton – are all discernibly energised by the the leader/composer's drive, bristling power and precision...

Tony Woods Project  Wind Shadows

Described by reedsman/flautist Tony Woods as 'music of light and dark, sweet and bitter, the wind and the shadow', and containing in its notes references to Eric Dolphy, religious poet George Herbert and traditional children's songs, this album comes from what might be termed the lyrical/spiritual/pastoral section of the jazz spectrum. Woods himself plays saxophones, clarinet, wood flute and hulusi, Rob Millett vibes, marimba and gongs, and it is chiefly their interplay and the resultant textural variety that defines the music of the 'Project'.