Roger Beaujolais – Vibraphone
Mark Lockheart – Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Robin Aspland – Piano
Orlando leFleming – Bass
Winston Clifford – Drums
As well as playing vibes on this CD, Roger Beaujolais
also wrote the tunes played on tracks 1, 3, 4 & 8. He is a very
successful musician in a number of different musical genres. His
acid-jazz (whatever that is) group Vibraphonic has enjoyed success
in the USA, he has also worked in the pop group Fairground Attraction
and drum ‘n bass act 4Hero. He is an integral part of the Travis/Beaujolais
Band with flautist Theo Travis and also The Chevalier Brothers with
Ray Gelato.
On this CD Roger is heard in distinguished company,
Mark Lockheart on Tenor & Soprano is a long time collaborator.
The rhythm section is an all-star gathering with the excellent Robin
Aspland on Piano, Orlando leFleming on Bass and the very talented
Winston Clifford on Drums.
This is a very well thought out album; Roger’s
arrangements have made skilful use of all the Quintet’s instrumentation
to make each track a musical adventure. The inclusion of some more
familiar themes with the original compositions gives the listener
a much better perspective than where everything is unfamiliar.
Roger’s own vibes playing must make him the UK’s
current No1, his style nods towards Gary Burton, but he is not an
imitator, he has a style of his own. Mark Lockheart has been on
the jazz scene long enough to absorb something of the many influences
around him and come up with a good sound on Tenor & Soprano
and some interesting solo lines.
My favourite tracks? In truth I liked all of them,
but the title track Dindi which is an extended feature for Roger
and Carl Perkin’s Grooveyard perhaps had a slight edge.
Although I have been aware of Roger Beaujolais
for sometime, I have never before sat and listened to an hour of
his music. I found the experience very rewarding, this is an excellent
band playing a high quality selection of music. I congratulate all
concerned.
Don Mather
CD Reviews
StayTuned
Records ST005
