The Observer 'CD of the Week' June 2004 "The day is surely coming when someone will write a thesis on why the Scots excel at jazz. There seems to be no end to the original, assertive and effortlessly engaging music being made north of the border at present. Mackenzie is a guitarist of impeccable jazz credentials who also plays Scottish traditional music. Vital Signs is the band in which he unites the two; the nine musicians include two fiddlers and a concertina player. The result is spirited, rich and surprisingly funky, with a powerful rhythmic undertow generated by the bass and drums of Tom Lyne and Tom Bancroft. In the slower pieces, fiddlers Aidan O'Rourke and Chris Stout are particularly effective, and a kind of subdued melancholy hovers around the edges of the music."
Kevin MacKenzie (guitar) Tom Bancroft (drums) Phil Bancroft (tenor sax) Tom Lyne (bass) Martin Kershaw (alto sax) Chick Lyall (piano) Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle) Simon Thoumire (concertina) Chris Stout (fiddle)
Media Reviews
Jazz is undoubtedly the primary musical colour here, evident in the ensemble writing and the freely expressive soloing s well as Tom Bancroft's propulsive, funky drumming, but the folk elements are not simply token.
"This nine piece jazz-meets-folk outfit was the outcome of guitarist Kevin Mackenzie's Creative Scotland Award in 2001, and the studio recording of the music he created confirms the strong impression it made in its original performances. Jazz is undoubtedly the primary musical colour here, evident in the ensemble writing and the freely expressive soloing s well as Tom Bancroft's propulsive, funky drumming, but the folk elements are not simply token. Fiddles and concertina provide melodic substance as well as subtle variations of colour, timbre and texture, and add a distinctive tinge to a very creative project."
The band's and the album's names are apt, as fiddles and concertina alternately joust with and cuddle up to saxaphones, bass, piano, drumkit and Mackenzie's own bravura parade of guitars.
"WINNING a £25,000 project development award amounts to rather more than seed-money, but nonetheless it's good to see Edinburgh guitarist/composer Kevin Mackenzie's 2001 Creative Scotland prize continuing to bear fruit. The jazz/folk supergroup he convened for the project, and the music he wrote for it, were recently reprised at gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh to launch their appearance on CD. It's hard to overstate the ferment of creativity seething between jazz and folk in Scotland right now - but this album captures it in virtually all its glory. The band's and the album's names are apt, as fiddles and concertina alternately joust with and cuddle up to saxaphones, bass, piano, drumkit and Mackenzie's own bravura parade of guitars. Whether it's the jaggy Balkan-esque rhythms of Lost Again or the nostalgic waltz-time cadences of Last Night; the gradually dawning serenity and wonderment of By Myself or the cocky funk of I Saw U, this is music of tremendous authority and vision. It's also a whole heap of fun, constantly active and alive yet never overly busy, and teeming with excellent solos." Sue Wilson.
|