Search - John Taylor, Norma Windstone, Kenny Wheeler :: Azimuth 85

You can't go wrong with this lineup

Kimathi Moore | North Carolina | 10/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once again, not to sound overtly biased, but rarely can such an incredible lineup (K. Wheeler, N. Winstone, R. Towner, J. Taylor) produce anything less than a wonderful, deceptively simple yet with a quality that is so rare amongst musicians of today, Jazz and World music included. What I love about Azimuth is their similarity to Steve Reich's work in a much looser and smaller setting. Their compositions for the most part always approach the evocative rather than the technicalities of musicianship and composition. In addition to that, Ralph Towner joins them with his incredible, immensely delicate, sensitive approach to sound, melody and textures. All of Azimuth's albums (not to be confused with their Brazilian counterpart Azymuth which I equally love) I have found are wonderfully complexe in their simplistic approach. The melodies and rhythmic interlockings are amazing to behold, and I look forward to hearing more of them at some point in the future. I personally love John's playing and Norma's approach to her voice and lyricism. Kenny Wheeler, although I find at times to be somewhat repetitive in some of his more familiar idioms, always, to my great surprise, does a tremendous job at always expanding the compositions as if he were endowed with this magical inner ear. Few trumpet and saxophone players with usually recognisable idioms have that ability. Kenny is able to adapt in whatever setting and blend in melodic structures as vanilla would inside ice cream. Every one of Azimuth's album is a worthwhile purchase and each song always evokes certain paintings with feelings. Some really profoundly inquisitive, others bordering on the nostalgic aspects of more natural settings. All in all, without a doubt, this album represents a winner for me that can be listened to over and over again."