PRESS

Bans of Five Names (CD Review)

John Clare Sydney Morning Herald 03/01/2000

I can't tell you this band's other four names, they are not supplied, but that is about my only complaint. If this self-produced (with some assistance from Radio Eastern Sydney and Sony) disc appeared on, say, the ECM label, it would undoubtedly win international critical acclaim and be popular here and abroad. The general standard of Australian contemporary jazz releases is remarkable, and this is one of the really outstanding ones.

There is a very broad resemblance to those spacious, flowing ECM recordings on which trumpeter Kenny Wheeler leads a quartet with piano, bass and drums, but there is no leader here (although pianist Matt McMahon wrote all the compositions) and trumpeter Phil Slater presents a much more direct extension of the Miles Davis tradition than Wheeler. This is some of the most brilliant and satisfying trumpet playing I have heard from anywhere in the world recently.

An outstanding feature is the tonal manipulation, which can juxtapose broad, clear floating notes with harsh-edged, almost haggard tones that cut things up in terrific bursts of expanding energy.

Bassist Adam Armstrong and drummer Simon Barker are at the peak of the craft, and this disc gives them the opportunity to use texture and space in a very creative way. The sound achieved by Ross A'Hearn is attractive as you'll hear anywhere, throughout the gamut of this band's moods - from meditative to blazing.