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Christian Brewer Quintet – 'Seesaw'BASHO RECORDS: - SRCD 16-2
Christian Brewer: - alto saxophone; Leon Greening: - piano; Jim Hart: - vibes; Phil Donkin: - bass (Tracks 4 + 7: Mick Coady) Tristan Mailliot: - drums. Recorded 5, 6, 7 July 2005; released 12 June 2006 Christian Brewer has been recognised as one of the most lyrical and soulful, yet exciting hard-bop alto players to have emerged in the UK and has played with many of the leaders on the scene and at major international jazz festivals - notably with top Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez in the group Decoy, and ex-Blakey tenor-player Dave Schnitter. He has played with Brian Abrahams, Wayne Batchelor and Jonathan Gee and has toured the UK and Italy with trumpet player Damon Brown’s Quintet, featuring on two of his CDs. Christian has worked with Geoff Gascoyne’s sextet, toured with funk band Push and reggae star Rico Rodriquez, as well as leading his own bands. The tunes on Seesaw are composed variously by Brewer, Greening and Hart, with one Mingus and one Monk thrown in, but not at all as throwaways. I would have liked to hear the album before hearing the band live at CaféJAZZ, Cardiff, albeit with a slight personnel change. My verdict is as usual – I prefer the live performance, but that should not inhibit anyone’s acquiring this album; it really is an inspiring performance. One particular point I would make is that this album is entirely based on post-bop jazz styling, in spite of the other influences in Chris’ musical repertoire. It is quite simply potent music and a commanding performance. The overall sound is vividly colourful, yet exhibits adroit gradations and the coalescence of the dynamic saxophone with the flighty flare of the vibes brings in a multiplicity of surface qualities that extend the music’s range. Add to this the scintillating piano and rhythm section and you have a most exciting new release that will not fail to stir. I thoroughly recommend this album, but if you can, hear the band live as well.
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