Track List:
01. Vuleka
02. Mr M.D.
03. Zuni
04. Fireweed
05. Mello
06. William Blake
07. The Forty Niner
08. Bells
09. Chesil
10. No Mans Land
11. Kenyon
12. Tau Ceti
13. A Greener Room
14. Pray
Max Roach died in 2007 but left behind a legacy that few other
drummers can boast about. His career spanned seven decades and he was
the proverbial pioneer of jazz, launching numerous new movements
within modern music like bebop, hard bop, acid jazz... well, you name
it. Working with jazz greats such as trumpeters Miles Davis and Dizzy
Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, he managed to always be in
the forefront of jazz music and those have who have seen him live
testify to how touched and honored they felt.
Back up a few years before Roach left us and here we have Dan Wilson
and Mark Huggett, whose music prowess has landed them various gigs in
the past as the rhythm section for artists like Mike Cooper, The
Waterboys, Annette Peacock and others. Despite being geographically
apart as of late - Dan Wilson moved back to South Africa while
drummer Mark Huggett remains in London, UK - they kept on working
together. Gotta love them MP3s and all kinds of digital tools.
Where Max Roach and these two guys apparently intersect is in this CD
we are talking about right now, interestingly named "Max Roach Park".
Perhaps Roach has been an influence of Huggett specifically, being a
drummer and all, but the truth is I didn't find any particular
connection while I did a little research for this review. Ominously,
Roach died shortly after this CD was produced so some kind of
posthumous tribute is probably out of the question. Then again, this
may simply refer to the real Max Roach Park in Brixton, South
England, and that's that.
Or it just doesn't matter. Musically, what we have here is a CD
filled to the brim with jazzy chill-out tunes that sometimes verge
dangerously close to muzak but can get quite complex under the
surface. I find the album works best as background music as it is
soothing yet varied enough with all the little trumpet, sax and
percussion bits. Mark Huggett is tasteful on the drums, never really
coming to the forefront, everything being about touch. There's a
feeling of world music floating around as well, especially where
ethnic percussion comes about, but it's never overwhelming.
There are however two different sides to this "Max Roach Park" album.
The first half is much more upbeat while the second half is entirely
subdued, more like a jam in nature, culminating in the 9 and a half
minute sort of mellow epic, "Pray". From this point of view, this
could have easily been two different albums even if it all sounds
very even. The production is excellent as well, every instrument -
and sometimes there's a lot going on - crisp and clear in the mix,
especially the drums. Mark Huggett is not just a very good drummer,
he also seems to be a great producer and engineer.
I'm usually not a fan of 80 minute discs crammed to capacity, but in
this case it just isn't a problem. This is not music you pay close
attention to. This is music you can feel and soak in as you're doing
something else and you know what? You may feel much more relaxed when
this CD stops spinning eighty minutes after it started.
Band:
Dan Wilson - Basses, Keyboards
Mark Huggett - Drums
Additional Musicians:
James Tartaglia - Tenor Saxophone on tracks 1,2,4,5,6,8,12
Silas Wood - Guitar on tracks 1,6,9
Dave Warren - Jazz Guitar on tracks 2,6,7,8,12
Yngvil Vatn Guttu - Trumpet on tracks 2,5,9,10,12,14
Gina Selby - Vocalisations on track 2
Teresa Walsh - Flute on tracks 5,8
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