Alister Spence Trio: Live
Alister Spence, piano, samples, music box; Lloyd Swanton, double bass; Toby Hall, drums, glockenspielJazz
Self-release
www.alisterspence.com
Reviewed by John Clare, February 1st, 2016
Since I began listening to the contemporary end of jazz, or what was the contemporary end then – in the early 1950s that was – I have heard many breakaways from forms and styles that had in themselves been breakaways. Sometimes the breakaway movement was sonically more violent, dissonant (even than thoroughgoing pre-serial atonality) and… continue reading »
Artefact
Jeremy Sawkins Organ Quartet. Jeremy Sawkins, guitars; Darren Heinrich, organ; Spike Mason, saxophones; Toby Hall, drumsJazz
Commissioned for ABC Jazz Digital Radio
Reviewed by John Clare, April 1st, 2016
The mystical span of the electric guitar; the funk and dance of the electric acoustic. It is no news that the modern electric guitar is capable of textural blitzes of feedback and a whole range of distortion effects. It is also true that it is capable of pure, thin, finely articulated notes that link it… continue reading »
Kapture
Post by Joseph Cummins, June 1st, 2015
Kapture is a masterfully performed fusion of jazz and Indian classical musics with a sprinkling of other influences from across the globe. Sandy Evans (alto and tenor saxophone), Bobby Singh (tabla), Brett Hirst (double bass) and Toby Hall (drums and percussion) are joined on four of the twelve tracks by vocalist Sarangan Sriranganathan. Inspired by… continue reading »
Lounge Suite Tango
The Umbrellas. Peter Dasent, piano, organ and accordion; James Greening, trombone, pocket trumpet and sousaphone; Andrew Robson, alto and baritone saxophones; Andrew Wilkie, vibraphone and marimba; Zoe Hauptmann, double bass; Toby Hall, drumsJazz
Armchair Records ARM 01
Reviewed by Eugene Ball, October 1st, 2015
I listened to this recording several times before I learned anything of the project leader and composer behind it. I must admit I was at first a tad bemused. Before my ears was a series of short, cartoon-esque tunes, but amid the caricatures were glimpses of deep, gritty improvising. It was tricky to know how… continue reading »
