PRESS

Few sparks, then musical fireworks

John Shand Sydney Morning Herald 29/11/2001

Matt McMahon, Phil Slater and Simon barker of the Band of five Names are at the core of some of the most innovative and absorbing improvised music being made in Australia.

Barker is key to this. Although using a conventional enough kit, he has questioned all other drumming conventions, approaching his instrument with a barrage of diverse techniques.

He also brought a rare sense of ritual to bear, without merely misrepresenting some non-western culture. It was there in the hypnotic, chant-like patterns to which his colleagues also gravitated.

McMahon searched out complimentary and contrasting colours for these, never succumbing to the pianist's disease of smothering the music in two-handed harmony. Slater was a master of surprise. Jarring computer-generated sounds would leap from the textures, then be embraced by them.

Similarly his trumpet could nestle in an ensemble, or suddenly burst from it with a torrent of passion as unexpected as an unlooked-for love affair. Crucially, they understood that risk-taking and curiosity must have an emotional rather than a purely intellectual end.