Search - Kieran Overs :: For the Record

Very satisfying

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 01/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kieran Overs, a mainstay of the Canadian jazz scene and a top-drawer bass player, has released a wonderful record with his fellow compatriots, Alex Dean (tenor and soprano sax), Brian Dickinson (piano), and Ted Warren (drums).I was very impressed by Overs's last two releases, Shape Shift and Quartetto, esp. the former, but he's outdone himself on For the Record. While there's nothing groundbreaking going on here, the proceedings exude deep familiarity with a wide language of contemporary jazz--everything from hard-bop to post-bop to free bop and beyond--and the band plays with such freshness and exuberance that the listener can't help but be caught up in the glorious straightahead vibe.The program appears to have been very carefully chosen. It features not only some gorgeous standards--Angelica by Ellington, In Your Own Sweet Way by Brubeck, and The Night We Called It a Day by Dennis & Adair--all brilliantly reworked--but also selections from some of the finest jazz composers on the scene today: Steve Swallow, Kenny Barron, and Geoff Keezer. But what really sets this session apart is something that always attracts me--a kind of joy in the face of sorrow combined with deep longing. You can hear it in much of Bobby Watson's music, esp. his stunning Love Remains, and in a good deal of Tom Harrell's music. It fairly oozes from these tunes, so lovingly yet originally rendered, so conversational, yet so profound. Music of this caliber could only come from a true band, musicians who've been playing together and listening to each other for some time.Glorious, probably largely unheard, music. Give it a listen."