Remembrance is a poignant title for this excellent double album, as it refers to remembrance of the late great British saxophonist Elton Dean whose main claims to fame include his membership of the version of Soft Machine from 1969 to 1972, and his earlier membership of Long John Baldry's Bluesology, a group which also included pianist Reg Dwight who later adopted Dean and Baldry's first names and morphed into Elton John...
Remembrancewas recorded on February 9th 2004 at Steam Room Studios, London. Tragically, within two years Dean would be dead of heart and liver problems, aged only 60. Consequently, this album features one of his final studio recordings. Despite the variety of instruments he played, Dean here sticks to alto sax, and is joined by three musicians with whom he collaborated frequently, Paul Dunmall on tenor sax, bassist Paul Rogers and drummer Tony Bianco.
The album does not focus unduly on Dean or any of the others; it consists of four extended improvisations, totalling nearly two hours of music — a bass-drums duo, two different trios (one with Dean, one with Dunmall) and the full quartet on the longest (37 minute) track of all. Of course, that means that the pairing of Rogers and Bianco is present throughout, which is terrific news as they are great together, either as the engine room behind the saxophonists or as featured players in their own right. On the duo track they demonstrate the variety of their skills, with some intricate bowing from Rogers and Bianco's sympathetic cymbal work attracting particular attention. But it is their understanding of each other which is most noticeable. As a pair, they constantly manage to generate a deep-seated rhythmic pulse while still imbuing their music with enough surface detail to keep it fresh and interesting in its own right.
As well as each one being enthralling individually, the trios and the quartet combine to provide a fascinating triangulated view of the two saxophonists. The 23-minute opening track "Trio I" features Dunmall in typical form, fluently reeling out long melodic tenor phrases that gel into a coherent whole, neatly punctuated by interludes from bass and drums. Next up, on "Quartet", Dean and Dunmall combine to stunning effect, their lines weaving in and out of each other to create a complex tapestry in which each of the horns remains clearly distinguishable. With saxophonists of the power of Dean and Dunmall, there was scope for the piece to turn into a cutting contest, but that never happens. Instead, the two are sensitive, complementary collaborators who bat phrases back and forth, each affording the other space in which to shine. Finally, "Trio II" puts Dean in the spotlight and he delivers a bravura performance that brings the album to a thrilling climax. This is British improv at its best, a great credit to four superb players.
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