I've played in a band with Brydon for 13 years or so, so you'd think he'd have let me know that he was recording something under his own name for the first time. Maybe let the cat out of the bag at one of our many rehearsals. In fact, it was about 6 months after its (limited) release that Brydon casually asked if I wanted a copy of his album, seeing as we were busy swapping music anyway. Recorded one morning in February 2009, partially as a studio test, this jazz "exploration of the interactions between composition and improvisation" was only made available at the Edge Of Wrong Festival in Cape Town that same year - which is a shame because it really should be finding its way into many more collections around the globe. The good news is that Mr Bolton has a new quartet album (a trombone player added to this line-up) in the pipeline which should be more readily available - so think of this as an intro.
The first track of the album comes out fighting with a killer groove, a great big open sound on the kit and Frank's dark vibes setting up a driving-through-the-wet-streets-of-a-city-that-never-sleeps thing which crashes headlong into Bolton's psycho saw-fest before exiting the scene like a bunch of thieves. Katiana (below) is track 3 on the album, and it's here that we start sinking into the full scope of the trio's sound. Drummer Simon Annett sounds like a storm on the horizon, the bass and vibes are more improvised. The bowing on this track makes me feel like I've discovered a Turkish bizarre down one of New York's side streets. From here the album picks up again - 'The Silent Garden' must refer to the beautiful spacious solo in the middle because the rest of this track is anything but. The album draws to a close with the tad more out there 'Surviving the City' with it's schizo bass loop, dissonant bowing and bell tones in need of medication - making me think that perhaps underground is where they've gone to pull off this survival - like the troglodytes from Delicatessen managed to form a jazz trio down in the sewers - great stuff.
(L to R) Brydon Bolton - Double Bass, Simon Annett - Drums, Frank Mallows - Vibes.
Recorded at SUI Studios, Cape Town, February 2009
Mixed by Dan Manojlovic, Mastered by Dirk Hugo
http://www.brydonbolton.com
Brydon Bolton Trio - Katiana
The first track of the album comes out fighting with a killer groove, a great big open sound on the kit and Frank's dark vibes setting up a driving-through-the-wet-streets-of-a-city-that-never-sleeps thing which crashes headlong into Bolton's psycho saw-fest before exiting the scene like a bunch of thieves. Katiana (below) is track 3 on the album, and it's here that we start sinking into the full scope of the trio's sound. Drummer Simon Annett sounds like a storm on the horizon, the bass and vibes are more improvised. The bowing on this track makes me feel like I've discovered a Turkish bizarre down one of New York's side streets. From here the album picks up again - 'The Silent Garden' must refer to the beautiful spacious solo in the middle because the rest of this track is anything but. The album draws to a close with the tad more out there 'Surviving the City' with it's schizo bass loop, dissonant bowing and bell tones in need of medication - making me think that perhaps underground is where they've gone to pull off this survival - like the troglodytes from Delicatessen managed to form a jazz trio down in the sewers - great stuff.
(L to R) Brydon Bolton - Double Bass, Simon Annett - Drums, Frank Mallows - Vibes.
Recorded at SUI Studios, Cape Town, February 2009
Mixed by Dan Manojlovic, Mastered by Dirk Hugo
http://www.brydonbolton.com
