Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ewan Bleach Quartet: Ewan, The Night 'n The Music
Ewan Bleach Quartet: Ewan, The Night 'n The Music
ByIt is difficult not to be reminded of this sorry historyinevitably oversimplified herewhen listening to The Ewan Bleach Quartet's debut album. Bleach, a reed player, is based in London, but has traveled in the United States as well. He is an admirer of Sidney Bechet and Lester Young. Bleach and his band play beautifully. While the tunes are standards and very much done in a "traditional" vein, they are not repertory pieces, but adaptations and reworkings of the originals: "music for melting in your chair at the end of a hard day." That they are, and more.
"Body and Soul, " a tenor feature, shimmers, built latterly on a kind of Coleman Hawkins contrafact. Bleach's soprano on "Deep Purple" is exquisitely embroidered. Hearing the verse on "Memories of You," a tune often associated with Sonny Dunham's trumpet, really takes on an entirely different feel, more plaintive than urgent. Bleach gives over a chorus and the bridge to the rest of the band, admirably played. A favorite? "Ewan The Night and the Music," really does evoke both Sidney Bechet and Lester Young simultaneously, in itself a comment on how fatuous the "controversy" about traditional as against modern was (and is). And no, Johnny Hodges, whom Bleach does not in the slightest evoke, did not own Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss." "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" is, somehow appropriately, taken at waltz time. "The Very Thought of You" is another clarinet feature. The session closes with "The Nearness of You."
The musicians accompanying Bleach all execute deftly. The rhythm guitar, done by John Kelley and Martin Wheatley, is especially effective. It might be possible to find a more soulful and evocative set of performances in this vein, but it would surely be a challenge.
Track Listing
Body and Soul; Deep Purple; Memories of You: Prelude to a Kiss; When I Grow Too Old To Dream; The Very Thought of You; The Nearness of You.
Personnel
Ewan Bleach
multi-instrumentalistColin Good
pianoJohn Kelly
guitarMartin Wheatley
guitarJim Ydstie
bassAlbum information
Title: Ewan, The Night 'n The Music | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced
< Previous
12 Stars
Comments
About Ewan Bleach
Instrument: Multi-instrumentalist
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar Tohttps://soundcloud.com/ewan-bleach?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing