Andrew Butt Trio +: Blueberry Ash

Blueberry Ash is predominantly an album of original compositions by Australian based saxophonist Andrew Butt. Pleasingly, it contains one added gem—"Love Song From Apache" written by David Raskin and Johnny Mercer, a rarely recorded tune that was a favourite of the great Coleman Hawkins, whose rendition on his album Today and Now is a true masterpiece in jazz history, and may have inspired Andrew Butt to include it here. He certainly does it justice; and so he should. Andrew is a Churchill Fellowship recipient, a Queensland Music Award winning leader and a saxophonist who has performed as a jazz soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. His compositions have been performed and recorded by a variety of artists including his own musical groups.

On this outing he is accompanied by the stylish guitar work of Toby Wren, whose solo on "I Love Boiled Eggs" is a standout, and the brilliant pianism and extended soloing of Kellee Green on all tracks, where her flowing lines and colourful chords seem to be as natural as breathing. The trio is augmented by a variety of bassists, drummers and horn players. These musicians blend into the mix extremely well and their contributions are first rate alongside the saxophone of Butt as he cruises through this horn fest with enthusiasm, faultless technique and impeccable feels. This is an uplifting and frankly heartfelt reflection of the time Butt has spent absorbing both the past and future of jazz, while sporting a wonderful collection of tunes.