Personnel:- Mick Foster, baritone and soprano saxophones
Jacqueline Dankworth, voice
Dominic Ashworth, guitars
James Pearson, piano
Dave Jones, bass
Simon Pearson, drums
- Another Journey
- Deep Secret
- Nocturne
- Changing Fortunes
- Feverish
- When Your Face Came Rising
- Waltz For A Lovely Wife
- Intimate Strangers
- Broken Promise
- Where The Rain Falls
Many
composers and arrangers of contemporary music work with specific musicians
in mind and that is what baritone and soprano saxophone player Mick
Foster has done on this collection recorded in 1999. There is a fine
diversification of melody and tempo and all the very capable musicians
blend well in whatever Foster has asked them to do. Most of the pieces
were composed by Foster with the exception of ‘Waltz For A Lovely
Wife’ which was written by Phil Wood and ‘Where The Rain Falls’ -
a collaboration between Foster and Jacqueline Dankworth. I am impressed
with Foster’s technique on baritone and even the difficult passages
are dealt with in a relaxed and confident way and the same goes for
his soprano playing especially on ‘Intimate Strangers.’ Dominic Ashworth
and Foster have been working together for some time and the experience
shows. If one needed a single track to illustrate what the band is
capable of then I think ‘Changing Fortunes’ would be my selection
but I hasten to add that this in no way denigrates the others.
So often
when ‘voice’ is included in the line-up the result can be disappointing
to say the least however Jacquiline Dankworth, as is expected from
her pedigree, has great feeling for composition and expresses herself
without imposing on the territory of the other members of the band.
The haunting melody of ‘Where The Rain Falls’ brings out her talent.
Without
doubt there is infinite capacity in some of our ‘home-grown’ musicians
and this album is a true reflection of the best of contemporary music.
Jack Ashby
CD Reviews
Black Box Music
