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the greg foat group - landscapes (2016 rsd release) - jazzman - vinyl

New Copy

Genre: Jazz

1. Dawn
2. Paper Kites
3. Landscapes
4. Dusk

Greg Foat wrote the four pieces for 'Cityscapes' whilst he was a session pianist and nightclub DJ in Sweden's capital city for almost a year. Following a move back to his native Isle of Wight, he then wrote 'Landscapes' in recognition of his contrasting life and times. A lone arco bass lugubriously opens 'Dawn' with wave-like piano and a hovering seagull cry from flute and occasional splashing cymbals. Thus the scene is set for this record's predominantly bucolic theme.

The flute on 'Paper Kites' is reminiscent of the doyen of that instrument, the late, great Harold McNair, replete with some 'wild flute'. Indeed the underlying swing of this fast-paced number possesses all the panache that was the trademark of that often overlooked hero of British modern jazz. 'Landscapes' begins as a slow, pastoral track with the melody gently evinced by the group's stalwart trumpeter, Trevor Walker. Half-way through the number the tempo and volume pick up, transforming the piece into a real toe-tapper and there's more deft soloing from trumpet and flute, all underpinned by solid piano, bass and drums. The final number, 'Dusk' is something of a brief reprise of the opener, certainly in feel, with once more an underlying arco bass and mellifluous piano closing this perfectly balanced set.