ALISON BENTLEY QUARTET
Alison Bentley vocals; Jonathan Gee piano; Dave Jones double bass; Paul Cavaciutti drums. Mornington Lockett tenor sax on tracks 3,6,9,10.
Recorded at Premises Studio, London 11 July and 19, 20 Dec. 1994.
TRACKS:
1 Fairly normal 7m 12s
2 Bit of a risk 3 17
3 Harlequin cat 6 16
4 Maybe 4 55
5 Rabbits 3 56
6 Angels on a pin 7 02
7 Mink 5 26
8 Making time 4 14
9 Pigs 7 09
10 Sonnet blues 6 21
MUSICIAN June 1995 Among some musicians, jazz musicians in particular, there has always been a certain resistance to working with or listening to singers. Singers have been the butt of many a joke - you know the sort of thing: Q: 'How do you know there's a singer at the door?' A: 'They can't find the key, and they don't know when to come in!' In complete contrast, both in style and content, is the first CD by 'The Alison Bentley Quartet' on the Slam label, Jonathan Gee (piano), Dave Jones (bass), Paul Cavaclutti (drums) and Alison Bentley (vocals). Here is yet another example of a really good creative musician who just happens to be a singer. All the tracks are originals written by Alison, who chooses to use her voice as an instrument for most of the time - only five out of the ten tracks are songs. Her high clear tones scat effortlessly around the most intricate phrases with an intonation as pure as her voice. The music is modern jazz, modal-based, which dips into the avant-garde as on the track 'Mink'. However, the band show their be-bop roots on the tune 'Pigs' on which Paul Cavaclutti is particularly outstanding. I note that it was recorded at The Premises, which has one of the best sounding pianos in London, and Jonathan Gee makes the most of it, especially on the track 'Maybe'. Like her music, Alison's songs are lyrical, whimsical and eclectic. The CD explores the styles of Jazz Waltz, Samba, Funk and Rock through to straight-ahead Swing and the band is equally at home in each. On four of the tracks the Quartet is joined by tenor saxophonist Mornington Lockett, who compliments the music, blends beautifully with Alison's voice, and adds another excellent dimension to this very interesting debut. Recommended. Lee Gibson
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