Alex Garnett's Bunch Of 5 - Andromeda

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2015
Time: 59:59
Size: 137,4 MB
Label: Whirlwind Recordings
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. So Long -  6:06
 2. Charlie's World - 10:28
 3. Andromeda -  7:18
 4. Delusions of Grandma -  5:48
 5. Early Autumn -  6:48
 6. Her Tears - 10:00
 7. Holmes -  5:37
 8. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm -  7:50

Alex Garnett & Tim Armacost (tenor saxophone); Liam Noble (piano); Michael Janisch (double bass); James Maddren (drums)

Taking on a two tenor line-up can be a bit of challenge. The weight of jazz history can hang heavily on the shoulders of the ‘challengers’ having to follow such potent combinations as Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon and Wardell Grey to pick just a couple.
In this, his second album for Whirlwind Recordings, Alex Garnett and fellow tenorist, Tim Armacost achieve this with some strong compositions, some cast iron playing and healthy dose of good humour thrown in, and indeed the Bunch of 5 band comes together from a mixture of determination and good fortune and coincidences over an extended period of time in getting the US based Armacost this side of the pond.
The repertoire contains a couple of standards in ‘Early Autumn’ with the saxophonist acknowledging his admiration for Stan Getz, and Irving Berlin’s ‘I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm’; but it the originals that keep the flame burning throughout this fine set. Garnett maintains that writing for two tenors is actually easier than writing for other more usual combinations, and proceeds to put his money where his mouth is in presenting some tough blowing vehicles the humorously titled ‘Delusions of Grandma’ and the clever title track that exhibits great subtly and warmth in the opening phrases, with the two horns weaving intricately around each other. Liam Noble also gets in a delightful solo, perfectly mirroring the feeling that has gone before.
Careful listening soon establishes the differences between the two tenors, with Armacost exhibiting the more abrasive tone, and Garnett complimenting this by following a more conventional route through the chords. Throughout, the rhythm section if somewhat subservient to the needs of the saxophonists driving things along nicely, yet manage to find their place in the music that draws the ear.
This a fine album from Garnett and his Bunch of 5 that unusually for a two tenor front line resists the temptation for combative duelling, and the net result is a set that reveals more with each listening.

Andromeda