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Andrea Vicari’s new group encompasses the
eclectic saxophone playing of Pete Wareham (Acoustic Ladyland
and Polar Bear fame) with the peerless Steve Waterman on trumpet,
regular bassist Dorian Lockett and newcomer and rising star James
Maddren on Drums. Together they recorded Andrea's latest CD on
33 records "Mango Tango" 33JAZZ163. "rich and colourful new compositions ....superlative playing
in a well-paced programme full of changes in style, mood and
rhythm. Vicari's writing embraces a number of jazz idioms and
is consistently varied and interesting." "her most accomplished yet" |
"Andrea Vicari's
playing is a constant delight - intense, probing, and generating
a seemingly endless succession of ideas" JazzUK
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A conventional-enough quintet of trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section, but it would be a great injustice to regard Andrea Vicari's new CD as a routine jazz exercise. For one thing, there are ten earcatching original pieces by the leader, ably interpreted by a fine band. For another, Andrea Vicari's own playing is a constant delight - intense, probing, and generating a seemingly endless succession of ideas. The stylistic contrast between Steve Waterman's trumpet and Pete Wareham's sax playing is also productive, with the former delivering strong, fluent solos in a predominantly hard-hop idiom, while the latter (as listeners to Acoustic Ladyland would expect) tends to explore the harmonic 'outside', as on the lively 'So Bigtime'. Then again, the very next track, 'Counting Minutes', is a gentle, reflective piece. This is primarily a vehicle for Andrea Vicari's thoughtful piano playing, but the track also provides a chance for bassist Dorian Lockett and drummer James Maddren to display their empathy with the leader's ideas. An absorbing CD - the sort you'll keep going back to. PM
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Pete Wareham - saxophone |
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Vicari may have prioritised teaching and motherhood over recording of late, but her absence from the studios hasn't cramped her writing or jaunty piano style. She remains, at the least, one of the most optimistic of contemporary pianists, but her writing is also rich and allusive and pushing into darker areas than that initial gloss always suggests. And this is also one intriguing band: although Vicari has worked successfully with larger outfits, this quintet has the varied voices and built in paradoxes that also reflect her eclectic writing. So Wareham's neurotic bluster is understandably well to the fore on the driving 'So Big Time', but it also has to go into some unexpected ballad territory ('Counting Minutes', 'Bavarde'), and it counterpoises neatly with Waterman's more boppish, crystal clear attack, which is prominent on 'Le Flambeur'. The rhythm section too has a tasteful mix, with young gun Maddren mixing clatter and clash with subtler splashes of colour, while Vicari's long time bassman Lockett holds it all down with a confident aplomb. The only quibble is that with such horn men sparring away, we don't have enough of Vicari's own soloing, although she stretches out on 'Counting Minutes' and lays down the catchiest of rhythms to the Latin feel of 'Café Calypso'. But best of all is the madness of the title track which threatens to tip into big time rock but never quite loses its shape. Andy Robson