Articles by Roger Farbey
Michael J Bolton: Earthrise
by Roger Farbey
Not the first record to salute the fiftieth anniversary of the first man on the moon, and probably not the last, Earthrise is composer, producer and bassist Michael J Bolton's own lunar landing. Rob Cope's Gods Of Apollo (Ubuntu Music, 2019) is just one recent example on the same theme, but this is hardly a criticism since there doesn't seem to be much else in space exploration within the last half century that eclipsed (pun intended) this monumental event and ...
Continue ReadingOkan Ersan: Nibiru
by Roger Farbey
Guitarist Okan Ersan hails from Cyprus and was a featured soloist on his younger bassist brother Oytun Ersan's album Fusiolicious (Self Produced, 2019). On the outer space-inspired concept album Nibiru (named after the mythical planet) his jazz fusion quartet cooks a quite a solar storm. Each of the seven chapters charts a musical narrative related to its respective celestial theme. The album also incorporates some NASA space samples as heard at the start of the opener “Chapter I: 6EQUJ5 (Wow ...
Continue ReadingTom Pierson: Last Works
by Roger Farbey
Classically trained Tom Pierson started out as a piano playing teenage prodigy in the early 1960s. His early orchestral background stood him in remarkably good stead since the compositions and arrangements for this masterpiece, Last Works are steeped in sonic complexity. It is also characterised by Pierson's self-stated desire not to regurgitate the past but to invent new and fresh forms. This mammoth double CD undertaking, which weighs-in at just over two hours in length, is divided into two “sets" ...
Continue ReadingCartoon: Change Of Meaning
by Roger Farbey
The Confront Recording's Collectors Series is distinguished by the packaging of its CDs which arrive in a DVD sized metal box. Rather than any cover art, there are instead simple stickers affixed to the front and rear denoting the artist, title and track names. The CD itself quaintly replicates the grooves and track markers of a vinyl record. These are limited edition runs of just a few hundred and sell at an attractively competitive price. But that's merely the icing ...
Continue ReadingLeo Richardson Quartet: Move
by Roger Farbey
The follow-up to Leo Richardson's debut album The Chase (Ubuntu, 2018) reveals that the tenor man is no one-trick pony. These fifty minutes of hard bop further demonstrate that, in addition to being a composer of well-constructed, memorable tunes, Richardson is also rapidly emerging as one of the UK's top saxophonists. At odds with its subtly ironic title, “The Demise" is actually a sprightly, upbeat number which instantly grabs the listener's attention; Richardson's ebullient tenor naturally takes centre ...
Continue ReadingMark Kavuma: The Banger Factory
by Roger Farbey
The Banger Factory, the follow-up to Mark Kavuma's debut album Kavuma (Ubuntu, 2018) is no less impressive than its predecessor. The title derives from the name of the band that Kavuma leads, which plays regularly at the Prince of Wales (aka POW) venue in Brixton, London. Deschanel Gordon's pensive piano introduction, evoking shades of McCoy Tyner in its expansiveness, heralds the ensemble start proper to “Dear K.D.," a tune dedicated to Kenny Dorham. Kavuma's initial feisty trumpet solo makes its ...
Continue ReadingArk Noir: Tunnel Visions
by Roger Farbey
The minute-long opening track, “Intro To A Dystopian Society," whilst too brief to make a proper impact, does, nevertheless, clearly signpost the tenor of the ensuing forty four minutes, which might be construed, rather cynically, as a mash-up of Aphex Twin meets Magma. This glib summation is, of course, inaccurate since Ark Noir possesses its own very unique and laudable set of characteristics. The debut album from this Munich-based group comes replete with electronic soundscapes, but crucially, although ...
Continue ReadingJared Pauley: On Capitol Street
by Roger Farbey
Hailing from Charleston, West Virginia, but now resident in NYC, Jared Pauley's first musical experiments were with the guitar but he abandoned this in favor of piano as a teenager. His influences include Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Chick Corea and his first purchased albums were Miles Davis' Milestones (Columbia, 1958), Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (Columbia, 1973) and Tito Puente's Éxitos Eternos (Universal, 2004). Certainly the Corea and Puente influences are prevalent on this follow-up to his debut recording Systematic (Circle ...
Continue ReadingBob Sheppard: The Fine Line
by Roger Farbey
Ironically, probably the only reason that Bob Sheppard isn't a household name (other than in jazz households) is because he's such an in-demand sideman. Splitting his time between Los Angeles, and New York he also teaches jazz at The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. But he's worked, amongst many others, with such jazz luminaries as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Peter Erskine and from the popular music world, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan and Stevie Wonder. This also explains ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman & Richie Beirach: Eternal Voices
by Roger Farbey
Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach have known each other for half a century and this double album is a celebration of their friendship. They've recorded together during this period in varying configurations. There was Liebman's short-lived but highly praised jazz rock group Lookout Farm formed in 1974 and from the 1980s there was Quest. But arguably it's their duet albums that have resulted in the most intriguing and musically timeless statements. There have been quite a few, too, beginning with ...
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