Search - John Stetch :: Heavens of a Hundred Days

Grows with repeated listenning

d. james mcrae | westcoast canada | 01/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i was lent this cd by a piano player friend. initially i was really impressed with the playing on love for sale- John Stetch's playing in particular, but the band seems to work well with one another, on this and all the cuts. it's difficult to explain the nature of the compositions, but after listenning a number of times, it dawned on me how the 1st track reminded me of an old wayne shorter album i used to love called Odyessy of Iska. {that album is a real beaut'}. I like the rhythmic ideas presented throughout the cd and on Rondeau in particular. Perhaps that is a coincidence of song titles, as the Brubeck tune called 'blue turk a la rondu' is also quite interesting from a rhythmic point of view. whatever! this cd is really quite good and better then Green Groove one of his I had heard in the last year, although perhaps that was a live recording which is different. I'd describe this recording as free jazz meets straight ahead with a touch of classical, but definitely a creative project from a compositional and playing point of view. I am curious to know what his more recent cds sound like as a result of really enjoying this one."