Paper Tiger (Assemblers) Without a bass in a band the players can either compensate for its absence or maximise the sonic space that is opened up. Guitarist Stephen Magnusson, saxophonist Jamie Oehlers and drummer Ben Vanderwal favour the former option, while occasionally making the latter work brilliantly. You hear the…
Category: Album Reviews – Archive
Home (www.fredsmith.com.au) Perhaps Fred Smith’s twin career as a diplomat explains his not being taken quite as seriously as a singer-songwriter as is his due. Given its potency, the Dust of Uruzgan opus (about his time in Afghanistan) was a hard act to follow, and he has responded by shrinking…
Joy In Spite Of Everything (ECM) The title of Easy Healing is perfect: a pick-me-up song riding on a breeze of calypso charm. Stefano Bollani, the exceptional Italian pianist long associated with Enrico Rava, could well have written this with Bill Frisell in mind, so perfectly does the guitarist’s elfin…