ZEN FISH Dreamtime Nick Evans tbn; Jim Dvorak tpt, flts; Gary Curson sop, alto saxes; Keith Tippett pno, pcn; Roberto Bellatalla bs; Jim le Baigue dms. Recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston, England. Feb 1998. SLAMCD 232 Bar Code 5 028386 023227

TRACKS:

1   Trunk call                          5m 03s

2   Zen fish                            4   57

3   Little cinema                      2   33

4   Quelle vie                          5   08

5   Papa                                3   34

6   And so tibet                      7   54

7   Pygmy strut                      6   40

8   Billy goes to town              3   16

9   Call the devil                     7   20

10  Ornette’s nest                  6   20

11  Thanks for tomorrow          1   47

The Times Dreamtime have at last been able to prove that they can reproduce in the studio the visceral excitement generated by their live performances. Their material ranged from relatively straightforward blues to fierce collective scrambles hovering on the edge of freedom, and from woozily majestic anthems based on traditional music to strident, wailing originals influenced as much by British-based models such as Mike Osborne and Louis Moholo as by Ornette Coleman. It is their overall approach, however - a passionate commitment to informal yet virtuosic spontaneous interaction all too rate in much contemporary wine-bar-friendly jazz - coupled with their easy familiarity with post-bop developments in the music that makes this long overdue album such an unalloyed joy.

Jazz Journal We always associate Dreamtime with Tippett and Evans.  It was formed in 1984 and seems to suffer an undeservedly low profile.  What then do we have here? Its six members offer an imaginative programme of originals; they deal with a couple of little known traditional pieces and mix tidy arrangements with well controlled and exciting collectives. These are garnished with imaginative solos, well balanced counterpoints and the whole package is supported by the busy ministrations of Bellatalla and Le Baige.  The excellent Tippett is prominent throughout but the work of Evans and Dvorak confirms that, of late, we have heard too little of them.  Doubters should sample Evans's take on Pygmy Strut and Dvorak as he looks at Ornette's Nest and deals with the blues on Billy Goes. While at it, they should listed to Curson making his point on the title track and they might also consider why a group capable of the passion found on Devil should be called Dreamtime. Barry McRae