CD REVIEW
THE saxophonist leading The Andy Sugg Group is a quite different beast from his fiery free-jazz incarnation with Kris Wanders. In a recording taken at the end of a long season at the Brunswick Green Hotel, Sugg’s ensemble of Daniel Gassin (keys), Nashua Lee (guitar), Thom Mann (drums) and Michael Story (bass) delivers detailed and delicate fusion.
Sugg’s originals are layered and incremental, but the feel is relaxed, with none of the developmental tension displayed by The Necks. The appeal is in the obvious synergy, with each member of the group feeling free to contribute alongside others in varied absorbing entanglements.
It would have been nice to hear more of Mann and Story — as in Blah — and perhaps some fiery Sugg, but this is a valued testament to nights in Brunswick.
File between: John Coltrane, Weather Report
Download: Blah, Tower Road
ROGER MITCHELL
This review also appeared in the Play liftout of the Sunday Herald Sun, Melbourne on January 9, 2011
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