Elton Dean - Unlimited Saxophone Company '1989

Tracks list

Tracklist

01 - Unda
02 - Rising
03 - Seven For Lee
04 - Small Strides
05 - Fall In Free
06 - One Three Nine

personnel : 

Alto Saxophone – Trevor Watts 
Alto Saxophone, Saxello, Composed By, Producer, Liner Notes – Elton Dean 
Double Bass – Paul Rogers 
Drums – Tony Levin 
Tenor Saxophone – Simon Pickard 
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Paul Dunmall

Brit saxer Elton Dean (yes, he of Soft Machine) lines up a monumental cast of
reedmen and has at it with a championship rhythm section to boot. Deans alto and
saxello are augmented by the tenor and baritone saxes of Paul Dunmall, Simon
Pickards tenor, and Trevor Watts alto. They are supported by no less than
drummer Tony Levin and bassist Paul Rogers. Heres the rub: This disc was
recorded at the bands very first gig at the 1989 Covent Garden Jazz Saxophone
Festival. This is a set of Dean tunes written especially for a quartet of sax
players who all have ample room to solo. The music borders on the outer limits
without really going there. Tracks like Seven for Lee (Konitz), Unda, and Fall
in Free all feature fairly elaborate melody lines with distinct and knotty
harmonies composed by Dean -- they border on post-bop but are too creative to be
boxed that way. Each horn player gets a solo that can skirt the variations on
the theme or go way outside if he wishes, like Dunmall does on Unda. In essence,
the rhythm section keeps things moving, undoing whatever damage might be
incurred by an errantly inspired saxman, shifting tempos and intervals just
enough to rein in even the most rambunctious player. On One Three Nine, which
ends the set, one becomes aware of how close Dean walks to the academic edge of
jazz composition; the cats got math in his head all the time, but its soulful
math, full of charge, feeling, and spirit that is enhanced and necessitated even
by the inclusion of these players in the ensemble. I wouldnt look for Deans
compositions to be covered too often, but thats all right -- in the steady hands
of this band, they are pretty much inimitable anyway.


 

Related artists