John Taylor: In Two Minds

Rating: ★★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

John Taylor (p)

Label:

Camjazz

March/2014

Catalogue Number:

CAMJ7868-2

RecordDate:

21-23 Nov 2011

The album title, and the section of the booklet written by John himself, offer the intriguing prospect of a Taylor overdubbing project. Nowhere is it pointed out that this only occurs on the energetic ‘Calmo’ and the two Kenny Wheeler pieces, ‘Phrase The Second’ and ‘3/4 pm’, yet those 13 minutes are worth the price of the album alone. But, then, so are some of the solo items such as the centrepiece of the ‘Ambleside Suite’, called ‘Dry Stone’, which begins sparse but hardly simple, and then gradually builds to a technically demanding though still lyrical climax, before seamlessly calming down again. If I wasn't already sold on the whole project, I'd have been won over by the unexpected closing track, a version of Ellington's ‘Reflections In D’ that doesn't feel like Ellington but very like John Taylor. [P.S. I love the recording of the actual piano sound, but it's a little disturbing to hear the pedal action on the slow tracks – less noticeable perhaps on speakers than on headphones. It certainly adds to a “you are there” experience.]

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