Owl Jacket
| Owl Jacket | ||||
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| Studio album by The Convergence Quartet | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | NoBusiness Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, download |
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| occupation | ||||
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The Convergence Quartet, Danas Mikailionis (Executive Producer) |
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Studio (s) |
Fish Factory Studios, London |
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Owl Jacket is a jazz album by the Convergence Quartet. The recordings, taken on October 9, 2013 at Fish Factory Studios, London, were released in 2015 as a limited edition LP and as a download on NoBusiness Records .
background
Owl Jacket is the group's fourth album over nine years, following Live in Oxford (FMR, 2007), Song / Dance (2010) and Slow and Steady (2012). The Convergence Quartet, "a kind of transatlantic super band", according to Stef Gijssels, consists of Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, Harris Eisenstadt on drums, Alexander Hawkins on piano and Dominic Lash on double bass. In addition to the band members' compositions, there are two traditional themes from Ghana and Gambia , which Eisenstadt arranged for the quartet.
Track list
- The Convergence Quartet: Owl Jacket (NoBusiness Records NBLP 84)
- Dogbe Na Wo Lo (arrangement Harris Eisenstadt, Traditional) 6:51
- Jacket (Dominic Lash) 9:42
- Coyote (Taylor Ho Bynum) 4:00
- Owl (Alexander Hawkins) 8:33
- Azalpho (Dominic Lash) 2:51
- Mamady Wo Murado Sa (arrangement: Harris Eisenstadt / Traditional) 6:47
reception
According to John Sharpe, who rated the album 4½ (out of five) stars on All About Jazz , the group’s continued survival shows "not just persistence, but also a commitment to strong group identity." And the characteristics that go with had shown their successful debut Live in Oxford , have now remained in a formula for success, of arrangements tested on the tours, which avoid conventions and contain both improvisational attitude and individual skills. “There is a remarkable spark in the back and forth between Hawkins and Bynum,” says the author. The cornetist is characterized by "restrained pyrotechnics ". He uses whistles, marbles, graceful tones, and muffled hums to bypass expectations of solo performance, but remains resolutely musical. For Hawkins, who is now considered one of the leading musicians in the British firmament, “displays of instrumental technology take a back seat in order to do what is needed at a given point in time. Lash and Eisenstadt, which show both balance and pressure, mesh seamlessly and indulge in making complexity appear natural and informal. "
Stef Gjissels also gave the album 4½ stars in the Free Jazz Blog and said that after her previous album Slow and Steady , which had received enthusiastic reviews, the expectations for her next album are understandably high. Overall, the album is good, very good, with four musicians whose skills are not questioned. Sometimes they risked putting those skills too much in the forefront, adding a further distance from their previous album, "but it's still highly recommended at all levels."
In the Italian edition of All About Jazz , Stefano Merighi wrote that the partnership of the Convergence Quartet remains lively and convincing, even though the group only performed sporadically, as this album shows, which offers a varied and well-structured repertoire and at the same time strings one from the heart upcoming lyrics touch, as in the opening title “Dogbe Na Wo Lo”, which is located in the vicinity of certain folkloric music by Don Cherry . “The interventions of the four focus on a supervised conversation in which mutual listening plays a prominent role,” says the author. "Nobody exaggerates, everyone plays with wisdom and self-control."
Peter Margasak noted in the Chicago Reader : “The band, which includes trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Harris Eisenstadt and bassist Dominic Lash, has never sounded so confident and summarized their search in warm, rolling melodies - nothing is more attractive than traditional themes from Ghana and Gambia…. Elsewhere, the other members of the quartet contribute pieces, but it's the way the ensemble sticks together after years that really impresses me here. You stick to the forms of the compositions, honor the strong melodies in each one and push yourself against these melodic lines with fiery improvisation. This is especially true for Hawkins. "
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stef Gjissels: Convergence Quartet: Owl Jacket. Free Jazz Blog, October 16, 2015, accessed May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ The Convergence Quartet: Owl Jacket at Discogs
- ^ John Sharpe: Convergence Quartet: Owl Jacket. All About Jazz, March 11, 2016, accessed May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Stefano Merighi: Convergence Quartet: Owl Jacket. All About Jazz, March 11, 2016, accessed May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Peter Margasak: pianist Alexander Hawkins signal a new era of progressive British jazz. Chicago Reader, November 27, 2015, accessed May 15, 2020 .