NAKED DANCE - Something Nearby
Leo CD LR 834
Stephen Rush, Piano, Fender Rhodes, Micromoog, Trombone, Euphonium; Andrew Bishop, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Davy Lazar, Trumpet; Tim Flood, Bass,Synthesizer; Jeremy Edwards, Drums
Intriguing from the start! Moody, perhaps, or dark even, there is a lot of hesitancy, which I put down to the principal theme, Time Cycle, in which there are seven variations. There is also Rush’s acknowledgement of his being influenced by an experiment by Anthony Braxton, so that as everything changes, new contexts are created and relative statuses altered, occasionally but briefly.
Each of these changes leaves a momentary iridescence, any of which may overlap, causing the whole to tremble. The instruments nurse each other and exhilarate their players, who still, when needed are subject to the assuaging piano.
The band was originally conceived without a bass, but this third outing includes Tim Flood who also plays synthesizer. The seven variations of Time Cycleare written as ‘graphic scores’ – à la Braxton – which leaves them open to individual interpretation by the musicians.
Overall one may discern an intriguing collocation of exact gesticulations, which though buried among vapours of uncertainty, demonstrate that here is no ‘free-for-all’, but a discernible construct. Some listeners may find this mystifying, but I trust also mesmerising at the same time.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Leo CD LR 834
Stephen Rush, Piano, Fender Rhodes, Micromoog, Trombone, Euphonium; Andrew Bishop, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Davy Lazar, Trumpet; Tim Flood, Bass,Synthesizer; Jeremy Edwards, Drums
Intriguing from the start! Moody, perhaps, or dark even, there is a lot of hesitancy, which I put down to the principal theme, Time Cycle, in which there are seven variations. There is also Rush’s acknowledgement of his being influenced by an experiment by Anthony Braxton, so that as everything changes, new contexts are created and relative statuses altered, occasionally but briefly.
Each of these changes leaves a momentary iridescence, any of which may overlap, causing the whole to tremble. The instruments nurse each other and exhilarate their players, who still, when needed are subject to the assuaging piano.
The band was originally conceived without a bass, but this third outing includes Tim Flood who also plays synthesizer. The seven variations of Time Cycleare written as ‘graphic scores’ – à la Braxton – which leaves them open to individual interpretation by the musicians.
Overall one may discern an intriguing collocation of exact gesticulations, which though buried among vapours of uncertainty, demonstrate that here is no ‘free-for-all’, but a discernible construct. Some listeners may find this mystifying, but I trust also mesmerising at the same time.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
