Monday, April 13, 2015

Andy Sheppard Quartet, Surrounded by Sea, album review: 'unsatisfying'

Andy Sheppard: the award-winning British jazz saxophonist Photo: Andy Sheppard
By Ivan Hewett, Jazz Critic
3:29PM BST 13 Apr 2015
It’s hard to think of a jazz saxophonist with a more keen and pure sense of melody than Andy Sheppard. He can infuse the tiniest little inflections with expressive power, just because the overall line is always so strong.


That gift is fully on display in this new album with his Trio Libero, here expanded to a quartet by the addition of Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset. The numbers are mostly newly composed by the trio, though threaded through the album are several takes on an old Gaelic melody, and Elvis Costello’s I Want to Vanish also makes an appearance.

Sheppard’s sax sound is as beautiful as ever, while Seb Rochford’s drumming patters quietly with suggestively complex patterns. Michael Benita’s bass playing is beautifully centred, and his own piece A Letter conjures something memorable out of one harmonic change.

read more: http://news360.com/digestarticle/GGNQrcfv4kuxG0Vc086Z0g

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