Tenor saxophonist Tim Whitehead and pianist Giovanni Mirabassi have collaborated on their first CD together Lucky Boys, released on Tim's own label HomeMade Records. This effort includes a variety of recording locales as well as both original and standard repertoire. While both leaders contribute spirited and distinguished compositions, those by the pianist resonate the most with this listener in their originality and poise.
Tim's strongest asset by far is his tone. Rich, centred and free of any baby fat or cellulite, much like the man himself. His clear, pure, vibrato-less cry is his major feature and one that is welcome in these times of trigger-happy saxophonists getting paid by the note. This is definitely not a tendency on Tim's part. His tonal moments are best realized on his heartfelt readings of John Lennon's Imagine and the Raye/DePaul chestnut You Don't Know What Love Is, often associated with Billie Holiday.
Not one to be,constrained by the expected even flurries of quavers on up-tempo romps, Tim's less than conventional style of parcelling out notes certainly will appeal to some. This is especially noticeable on Giovanni's Tot Ou Tard, a stormer that closes the CD. Giovanni's Des Jours Meilleurs takes composition honours hands down. A lyrical waltz that betrays the pianist's French connections, it sports a circular melodic development, not unlike the songs of Michel LeGrand. The clipped eight-note theme is restated through the piece in many different keys and moods. Bravo. | | Bassist Steve Swallow's Ladies in Mercedes is another winning inclusion with its long and lyrical melody over a bubbling and punctuated rhythmic underpinning. Tim's title tune is based on Motown's Dancing in the Street with a dash of Gershwin's I Got Rhythm to help bring out the Northern Soul of the Scouse saxist. The groove is good and this piece is never constrained by a conventional pre-written theme, opting instead for what sounds like a capricious line that improvises its way into a melody.
Special plaudits too for Giovanni's fine piano solos accentuated by his 'ownership' of the instrument. He doesn't merely play at the keyboard, he is the piano. The limber and hickory-wooded sound of Oli Hayhurst's bass scores throughout, especially in his solo outing on Tenderness. Similarly, Milo Fell's drumming is trustworthy and imaginaginative. He strikes one as being a musician who plays the drums as opposed to a drummer.
There is a fine, high quality recorded sound throughout the studio tracks which comprise five of the nine selections. The remaining cuts were recorded live at two different London venues. While the live audience certainly spices up the mood, somehow the mixing and matching of the three venues throws the focus slightly off kilter for this listener.
An enjoyable and spirited musical outing, Lucky Boys is an excellent showcase of the writing and playing talents of Messrs Mirabassi and Whitehead. Buy it while stocks last.
Frank Griffith. |
'Lucky Boys' 