Power of the Idea
(Jazzhead)
Although saxophonist Robert Burke calls the album Power of the Idea, what actually pushes you back in your seat is the power of the playing. It is raw and visceral, riding on momentum as unstoppable as a driverless bulldozer with cruise control. Burke and his fellow composers presented an undeniable complexity of compositional ideas, but such was the calibre of musicianship on hand that any difficulties were readily chewed up and spat out as rampant energy. Burke, a Melbournian, made the pilgrimage to New York to record this, taking with him pianist Paul Grabowsky, trumpeter Paul Williamson and trombonist Jordan Murray. There they annexed the brilliant rhythm section of bassist Mark Helias and drummer Nasheet Waits, who apply a blow-torch to all that lies in their path. This often raging, tumultuous music is the opposite of a pearl: the grit is on the outside, and at its core is a grain of pure beauty.