- Afternoon in Paris
- Never Let me Go
- Lotus Blossom
- Always & Forever
- The Lamp is Low
- O Pato
- So Many Stars
- If I Should Lose You
- Be My Love
- A Portrait of Jennie
- Ode to a Flugelhorn
Bruce Adams - Trumpet and Flugel
Dave Cliff - Guitar
Leon Clayton - Double Bass
Ralph Salmons - Drums
A new album from Bruce Adams
is something to look forward to hearing and
he doesn’t disappoint at all with this one.
Bruce is one of those amazing musicians who
make everything look and sound easy. He is
I’m sure the rightful successor to Kenny Baker
as the UK’s No1 trumpet player. That is not
to say that he plays in the same style as
Kenny, but the ease with which both could
play the near impossible is amazing. I have
had the good fortune to work with Bruce on
a number of concerts, he is a man of great
charm and he has a wonderful presence which
makes him enormously popular with audiences.
He can adapt to any style instantly and this
album gives us just a sample. On the opening
track Bruce uses a Harmon mute to great effect,
he is a master of using different mutes to
present the whole range of trumpet effects,
few modern players are capable of this. His
Flugel playing is just as good and he plays
it to great effect on ballads such as A Portrait
of Jenny and the Pat Metheny tune Always and
Forever.
The choice of material is
very good and the interest in the music never
flags. Mention must be made of the rhythm
section Dave Cliff’s long melodic lines and
thoughtful comping behind Bruce’s solos is
outstanding. Leon Clayton plays with a lovely
full tone on the Double Bass and Ralph Salmons
swings everything along with great style,
but always with due consideration for the
needs of the other members of the band.
This is my record of the
month and I recommend it to everyone as a
British Band that plays world class jazz.
Don Mather
CD Reviews
Woodville WVCD104 
