Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Alex Hitchcock: Dream Band

9

Alex Hitchcock: Dream Band

By

View read count
Alex Hitchcock: Dream Band
Alex Hitchcock has a lot of energy and a lot of ideas; four recordings have apparently left him in no danger of running out. Clearly it helps to have met plenty of friends and collaborators along the way. Besides the mutual inspiration that arises between generous players, he knows he will probably have a voice available (instrumental or literal) for just about any germ of a song that arises. Where each previous recording revolved around a single lineup, the cast of Dream Band is really a different band for practically every piece.

Hitchcock's program here is a sprawlingly ambitious one where practically every track calls for something different. His saxophone can fit into a bustling septet or playfully stretch out in a simple trio with bass and drums. Surprisingly, the outing begins with a vocal number, smoothly crooned with a cleverly shifting irregular groove underneath; Midori Jaeger provides some subtly rich cello alongside her vocals. As inviting as that opener is, the light-bop duet "Azalea" makes an arguably more charming highlight mid-set with just cello, sax and voice.

Dream Band impressively keeps a certain feel through whatever permutations arise. Hitchcock has a flair for grooves that flow despite their trickiness, while his bouncy and playful spirit pervades the jaunty interplay among the whole cast. Brisk-driving waltz, bongo-tinged capering, thoughtful ballad building to soaring finish with room for upbeat scatting—there is room for everything in Hitchcock's wheelhouse. While his sax playing has dazzled listeners for years by tastefully packing in a wide range of everything, it is a fun step to hear his compositional mind stretching in much the same way.

Track Listing

Wolf and Nina; Yeshaya; Intro; To Love Itself; Outro. FSTL; Move 37; Azalea; Embers; Overcome Any Obstacle with a Horse; Simulacra; And Then.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Dream Band | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Fresh Sound New Talent

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Alex Hitchcock Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.