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Johnny Hunter / Mark Hanslip / Olie Brice: Divisions
ByCertainly Hunter's charts allow a lot of agency: simple but with enough substance to serve as building blocks for both collective and individual flights of fancy. There is a melodicism which pervades the set, evident even in the leader's careful attention to pitch and timbre, on display as much when he plays the heads as in the subsequent interplay. A regular partner, Hanslip in particular brings a lyrical sensibility to the spacious conversational exchanges, whether in considered short phrases or reflective moments interspersed among agile sprints. Indeed there is almost something reminiscent of Ornette Coleman in the way he dances over the morphing rhythms.
Brice reaffirms his place as one of the foremost improvising bassists on the UK scene. He enjoys an especially strong connection with Hunterthey perform together regularly, not least in Brice's Octet, as heard in one half of the wonderful Fire Hills (West Hills, 2022)such that they switch almost at will from time to free and back again, without ever leaving behind an animating pulse. It is also showcased in a drum and bass interlude on "Part 3" in which the focus constantly shifts between them without ever becoming a solo.
The communication between all three, honed on a tour which preceded the recording date, results in both compactness and clarity of intent. "Part 2" opens in an atmosphere redolent of tension, full of grinding arco, whinnying saxophone and cymbal froth. It builds gradually towards a crescendo, with Brice's overtones and Hanslip's multiphonics braiding pleasingly en route, but never quite lets go, and is all the more effective for opting out of easy resolution. Bowed bass and wailing saxophone also feature prominently during the prickly "Part 4," the most spirited cut, which nonetheless ends with Brice's slow walking foregrounded in a surprisingly reserved conclusion to a fine disc.
Track Listing
Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Divisions | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Discus Music
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Johnny Hunter / Mark Hanslip / Olie Brice
Album Review
John Sharpe
Divisions
Discus Music
Johnny Hunter
Olie Brice
Mark Hanslip
Cath Roberts
Ornette Coleman