No Face Music 3

Benny Golson - Tenor Legacy

Sass, Scorch and Mellowness

Golson plays tribute to other saxophonists on this fine album, and is joined by fellow sax players Branford Marsalis, James Carter and Harold Ashby. While these others variously tear it up - some sass on Cry Me A River and some scorch on My Favourite Things - Golson's more mellow and smoothed-out signature is always a perfect foil to this tandem ride. Tracks and players on a fine album are:

Track Listing:
Lester Leaps In;
Body and Soul;
St. Thomas;
Cry Me a River;
My Favorite Things;
Whisper Not;
The Girl from Ipanema;
My Old Flame;
Lover Come Back to Me;
In Memory of

Personnel:
Benny Golson, Branford Marsalis, James Carter, Harold Ashby, tenor saxophone;
Geoff Keezer, piano;
Dwayne Burno, bass;
Joe Farnsworth, drums.

Hands Music 41

The Curtis Fuller Jazztet with Benny Golson

Sober Soft

This is a brief return to say once more how much I like Benny Golson on saxophone, especially when he is blowing his suspiring sax sound, wrapping its whisper around the notes in a slur as controlled as walking a straight line because it is a sober caress.

That’s it. It’ll never be as good as hearing it, but one tries. This album further interested because Lee Morgan also plays and I have only recently become aware of his work in any depth.

More describing of Golson here.

Fish Music

Eric And Ulrika Bibb - Pray Sing Love, album review

No Translation Required

There isn't much out there on this new album, in English, though this following translation from one Swedish review does demonstrate the inherent problem with a computerised conversion: It is a very beautiful and silent album where the married couple's voices also marry each other and with the ten songs Eric wrote.  Eric and his Swedish wife Ulrika nonetheless require no translation when it comes to hearing the simple, peaceful [I think this is where the word 'silent' was prompted] beauty of all these tracks, some sung solo, respectively, and others together. It is remarkably gentle throughout which may not appeal to all, but then if you fancy something heavier, listen to something heavier.

It sounds very much like a labour of love celebrating love and for that reason alone I will give it the pass from private sentimentality to an acceptable sharing. Dive Deep is an early favourite, and I do like the harmonica close, brief as it is, to Between Young and Old and its reappearance in following track You Were Made for Me. Ulrika is gospel-cool on Show Me the Way, the strings layering just enough spiritual tone to complement effectively, though it is a near thing to overstating.

THE DELTA SOUND - 'Time Please'

Rock roots in the fine guitar. Looking forward to more from this fine musician/band.

Into the Distance Music 74

Gomez 20 Years of ‘Bring it On’ Celebration Tour, Rock City, Nottingham – support by John Smith – 25th April, 2018

Still Standing

This won’t take long in conveying the great joy and buzz of seeing this gig, first and foremost going with one of my daughters who reminded me that apart from our father/daughter link and broad share of musical likes, we had each independently bought Gomez’s debut album Bring It On back in 1998 and liked – loads. I recall liking most the bluesy/funk material, especially the throaty vocal of Ben Ottewell; she clearly loving it all as was proved last night with her singing along knowingly to every blistering track played at the wonderful Rock City venue in Nottingham.

The second and surprise treat was the support act. Not knowing who it was going to be, with the first slap and pluck on his acoustic guitar I turned and said keenly to my daughter – in the self-congratulatory reverie of personal apocalypse [I do tend to forget much as I get older] – that’s John Smith! The significance of this is we had seen him together in 2007 at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, supporting John Martyn, perhaps our closest musical share and great love. I have since reviewed Smith’s album Great Lakes here. His set was excellent: great guitar playing – and he had a superb slide guitar cameo with Gomez during their act – and his husky vocal soaring with warmth. 

Gomez opened their set with the first track Get Miles off that Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, and the evening was set with a stonking two decades’ turn-back to excellence. Everything that followed was superb, but again for me I enjoyed most the heavier material, often so funky in its grooves, and Ottewell especially on both vocal and feedbacked heavy guitar work. The band was remarkably tight and their individual singing as well as harmonising was perfection. And then there was the scorch of Rie’s Wagon, all sass and funk and beauty too. A stunning set that had a packed crowd in their own living reverie, this too joyous to watch as they danced and sang along throughout a memorable evening's performance. Highly recommended if you get a chance to see on the continuing tour.

I’d forgotten how young these guys were in 1998. They are yet young men and if I can still rock it for the second 20 year celebration, I’ll be there. But I will have that chair…

Far Out