On this 1998 release,
Flipside
seems to seek answers to some intriguing questions: How would the early
Weather Report
sound today with a cool-toned guitarist instead of
Joe Zawinul
's keyboards? What would the mid-'60s
Miles Davis
group have been like with
George Benson
as a regular member, rather than as simply a guest on a few tracks? In exploring scenarios such as these,
reveals a world rich in possibilities remaining to be discovered. While its name suggests otherwise, this quartet of two New Zealanders, a Parisian, and an Ulster man is serious about making music that matters. The group's accessible sound is an effective study in contrasts and tension, where a dry, at times cerebral, approach is constantly set ablaze by the subtle fury of Belfast-born drummer
Darren Beckett
. Paired with
Beckett
in the rhythm section, bassist
Matt Penman
announces himself as a force to be reckoned with, especially during a thundering, walking bass duet with
on guitarist
Greg Tuohey
's
"Stretch."
The moment is pure adrenaline.
Penman
also wrote four of the eight originals that make up the CD. The quartet's quieter side comes through in the gentle
jazz
waltz of saxophonist
Jerome Sabbagh
"Numero 6,"
in
's reflective
"The Muses,"
and in
Tuohey
's ballad
"Nude."
Even in these more subdued moments, the vigorous
pulse always percolating within is a particularly appealing facet of
. For listeners who have ever pondered "what if?" about certain avenues of
contemporary jazz
left untraveled or abandoned too quickly,
has found some answers of its own, and they make for potent music. ~ Jim Todd