Q4 - Uphill Struggle
Hey!jazz HJZ-18070
Tini Thomsen - baritone sax; Nigel Hitchcock - alto sax; Fiete Felsch - alto & soprano sax; Bjorn Berger - tenor sax
Saxophone quartets come in a variety of flavours; they can emulate the classical wind quartet in exploring the chamber repertoire, they can go for the overtly, tightly arranged jazzy virtuosity of Itchy Fingers, or plough the more austerely experimental furrow pioneered by The World Saxophone Quartet. Either way, this format is a challenging one that requires a high degree of musicality, personal virtuosity and sheer physical stamina, especially for whoever draws the straw for the baritone chair. The presence of ex-Fingers Hitchcock and Berger indicates that Q4 are operating in the territory that the Itchy ones made their own; super-tight, flamboyantly virtuosic and flavoured with a bluesy funk sensibility. Tini Thomsen is the leader and it’s her honking baritone that drives the ensemble along and provides a dominant voice throughout tunes with titles like ‘Horny Guys’ and ‘Panda Gets Funky’.
The ensemble parts are supernaturally tight - more reflective pieces like ‘Pappie Loop Toch Niet Zo Snel’ allow the players to show off their control on long tones, and all four players really do seem to breath as one. The default setting is a breezily funky, bluesy romp, with tracks like ‘Midi’ setting dancing chords against Thomsen’s tirelessly inexhaustible huffing, with Hitchcock supplying mercurial blues-drenched solos. ‘Uda Watte’ has a more introspective, textural flavour that comes as something of a relief; despite the almost superhuman levels of virtuosity on display, the emotional range of the composition seldom strays from the jauntily upbeat, and over the course of an entire album the sonic palette may start to pall for all but the most dedicated saxophone enthusiasts. We can imagine the the live show would be spectacular.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Hey!jazz HJZ-18070
Tini Thomsen - baritone sax; Nigel Hitchcock - alto sax; Fiete Felsch - alto & soprano sax; Bjorn Berger - tenor sax
Saxophone quartets come in a variety of flavours; they can emulate the classical wind quartet in exploring the chamber repertoire, they can go for the overtly, tightly arranged jazzy virtuosity of Itchy Fingers, or plough the more austerely experimental furrow pioneered by The World Saxophone Quartet. Either way, this format is a challenging one that requires a high degree of musicality, personal virtuosity and sheer physical stamina, especially for whoever draws the straw for the baritone chair. The presence of ex-Fingers Hitchcock and Berger indicates that Q4 are operating in the territory that the Itchy ones made their own; super-tight, flamboyantly virtuosic and flavoured with a bluesy funk sensibility. Tini Thomsen is the leader and it’s her honking baritone that drives the ensemble along and provides a dominant voice throughout tunes with titles like ‘Horny Guys’ and ‘Panda Gets Funky’.
The ensemble parts are supernaturally tight - more reflective pieces like ‘Pappie Loop Toch Niet Zo Snel’ allow the players to show off their control on long tones, and all four players really do seem to breath as one. The default setting is a breezily funky, bluesy romp, with tracks like ‘Midi’ setting dancing chords against Thomsen’s tirelessly inexhaustible huffing, with Hitchcock supplying mercurial blues-drenched solos. ‘Uda Watte’ has a more introspective, textural flavour that comes as something of a relief; despite the almost superhuman levels of virtuosity on display, the emotional range of the composition seldom strays from the jauntily upbeat, and over the course of an entire album the sonic palette may start to pall for all but the most dedicated saxophone enthusiasts. We can imagine the the live show would be spectacular.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
