The Necks: Hanging Gardens (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: March 1, 2002

This Australian jazz-fusion trio creates quite a bit of music magic via a relatively simple framework. Marked by a repetitive passage that sways in and out of the overall proceedings for the better part of sixty-minutes, the musicians embroider a cavalcade of trance grooves amid drummer, Tony Buck’s peppery beats. Thus, jazzy riffs coalesce with Miles’ “In A Silent Way” style imagery as illusory patterns ride above the rhythm section’s pumping motifs. Keyboardist, Chris Abrahams’ steers the production with his often-oscillating Fender Rhodes work, and resonant EFX-based treatments.

On this release, Abrahams communicates a memorably melodic, lower register single note progression, along with a few discreet twists, turns, and minor alterations. However, they effectively intimate notions of bliss and abandonment in concert with an altogether blithe spirit. Sort of like putting the car in cruise control as you, traverse through a barren yet unusually beautiful desert highway. But part of the trio’s success resides within the way they rarely overstate a theme, while the ubiquitous ostinato serves as the undercurrent for a wealth of enchanting soundscapes. Simply stated, Hanging Gardens is an engrossing affair! Strongly recommended.

ReR

North American distribution by Cuneiform Records

Track Listing: 1.Hanging Gardens

Personnel: Chris Abrahams: piano, Hammond, Rhodes, keyboards

Record Label: ReR Megacorp
Style: Fusion/Progressive Rock