DUNCAN EAGLES - Citizen
Ropeadope - RAD443
Duncan Eagles - tenor & soprano sax; David Preston - guitar; Matt Robinson - piano; Max Luthert - bass; Dave Hamblett - drums
This debut solo outing from the Partikel frontman comes courtesy of the extremely hip Ropeadope label, putting Mr Eagles in the company of such as Nate Smith, Terrace Martin and Aaron Parks. The bar is set high, and Eagles and his cohort clear it easily within the opening bars of the title track - complex, super-tight rhythm arrangements with cascading unison lines from sax & guitar, all exciting minor-key exhilaration and artfully built tension leading into succinctly virtuosic displays from Eagles and the excellent David Preston.
Eagles’ crisp, punchy tone and fluent accuracy seems to derive from the Brecker school - his flawlessly executed, lightning fast soprano runs on the frenetic, densely arranged ‘Riad’ place him in the premier league of jazz players mining the contemporary ‘acoustic fusion’ sound, as practiced by such international operatives as Chris Potter or John Ellis. ‘Conquistador’ slows the pace and allows Eagles to show his beautiful melting tone on an affecting free-time ballad, like a less strident Garbarek with the 70s Jarrett ‘European’ band. Fellow Partikel member Luthert combines with Hamblett to supply the kind of precision and power needed to deliver the demanding compositions; Matt Robinson on piano is the perfect addition to round out the band, with an instinctive feel for this style of music and the chops and imagination to deliver - ’Shimmer’ has an uplifting, Metheny-esque lilt that gives him the perfect vehicle to display his skills. ‘Folk Song’ has some Wayne Krantz style textures from Preston and the closest the record gets to a swing feel; ‘Cascade’ explores further virtuosic compositional devices to put the band through their paces; and ‘Midnight Mass’, evoking memories of Eagles family Christmasses, is a well-judged and emotive album closer.
While the overall impact may be too cerebral for some, there’s no denying that this is a superbly realised set of compositions played at the very highest level, and this album should continue to develop Eagles’ reputation as a player making his way towards the forefront of the jazz scene, both in the UK and further afield.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Ropeadope - RAD443
Duncan Eagles - tenor & soprano sax; David Preston - guitar; Matt Robinson - piano; Max Luthert - bass; Dave Hamblett - drums
This debut solo outing from the Partikel frontman comes courtesy of the extremely hip Ropeadope label, putting Mr Eagles in the company of such as Nate Smith, Terrace Martin and Aaron Parks. The bar is set high, and Eagles and his cohort clear it easily within the opening bars of the title track - complex, super-tight rhythm arrangements with cascading unison lines from sax & guitar, all exciting minor-key exhilaration and artfully built tension leading into succinctly virtuosic displays from Eagles and the excellent David Preston.
Eagles’ crisp, punchy tone and fluent accuracy seems to derive from the Brecker school - his flawlessly executed, lightning fast soprano runs on the frenetic, densely arranged ‘Riad’ place him in the premier league of jazz players mining the contemporary ‘acoustic fusion’ sound, as practiced by such international operatives as Chris Potter or John Ellis. ‘Conquistador’ slows the pace and allows Eagles to show his beautiful melting tone on an affecting free-time ballad, like a less strident Garbarek with the 70s Jarrett ‘European’ band. Fellow Partikel member Luthert combines with Hamblett to supply the kind of precision and power needed to deliver the demanding compositions; Matt Robinson on piano is the perfect addition to round out the band, with an instinctive feel for this style of music and the chops and imagination to deliver - ’Shimmer’ has an uplifting, Metheny-esque lilt that gives him the perfect vehicle to display his skills. ‘Folk Song’ has some Wayne Krantz style textures from Preston and the closest the record gets to a swing feel; ‘Cascade’ explores further virtuosic compositional devices to put the band through their paces; and ‘Midnight Mass’, evoking memories of Eagles family Christmasses, is a well-judged and emotive album closer.
While the overall impact may be too cerebral for some, there’s no denying that this is a superbly realised set of compositions played at the very highest level, and this album should continue to develop Eagles’ reputation as a player making his way towards the forefront of the jazz scene, both in the UK and further afield.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
