1. In the Zone
2. The Story So Far
3. Operation Yardbird
4. Theme for Ernie
5. Take the D-Train
6. You Must Believe in Spirng
7. Fiasco
8. Young at Heart
9. Smile
10. Ca-Lee-So
Dave O'Higgins - Tenor sax, soprano sax
Tom Cawley - Piano
Sam Burgess - Bass
Sebastiaan de Krom - Drums
Martin Shaw - Trumpet (tracks 1, 5, 7, 10)
In
jazz, technical facility can be a huge asset
but also a dangerous temptation. Dave O'Higgins
has all the technical facility anyone could
need on saxophones and some of his solos feel
like a never-ending torrent of notes. Thankfully,
despite his facility, these torrents of notes
are clearly shaped into meaningful solos.
The same applies to drummer Sebastiaan de
Krom, whose solo on Take the D-Train
is perfectly formed as well as technically
impeccable. Sometimes, perversely, it all
seems a bit too perfect and one yearns for
a few signs of human frailty, lest the music
should seem to come too easily. But there's
no doubting the thrill of much of the music
on this album. Operation Yardbird,
for example, is an exhilarating post-bop excursion,
with Dave galloping away and the drummer going
berserk, although the excellent pianist Tom
Cawley takes a more measured approach. Many
of the tunes are up-tempo, in boppish mode,
and even on slow numbers like Theme for
Ernie, Dave often doubles the tempo.
The
band turns Michel Legrand's beautiful You
Must Believe in Spring into a fast romp,
although they inventively vary the tempo.
When Dave eventually gets round to stating
the tune, there is a touch of human frailty,
as I think he gets the melody slightly wrong
(but maybe he's just improvising freely).
At least this track has some light and shade,
whereas Fiasco is a relentless breakneck
race with trumpeter Martin Shaw matching Dave's
flow of notes. However, Young at Heart
is a sax-and-piano duet which includes some
pauses for breath, turning a rather mawkish
tune into a near-masterpiece. In contrast,
Charlie Chaplin's similarly sentimental Smile
becomes a hectic race to the finish. The calypso
mood of Ca-Lee-So evokes Sonny Rollins
as much as its composer, Lee Morgan. In fact
the album is designed as a tribute to great
saxists like Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon
and John Coltrane. So the title-track includes
a quote from Coltrane's Giant Steps
in the melody, and Operation Yardbird
sounds as twistingly complex as a Parker composition.
This
is a very satisfying album, not just for the
high level of musicianship but because the
group works so well together. Having heard
Dave with a less-good rhythm section at last
year's Isle of Wight Jazz Festival, I can
aver that he is best heard in top-class company,
and he certainly has that here, inspiring
him to some splendid work.
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
Jazzizit JITCD 0847
