John
MacMurchy is a new name for me, and quite possibly for you too, so
a little background information may be in order. He is Canadian, based
in Toronto, and on the evidence of this, his second album, is an extremely
accomplished and versatile reed player, whether on tenor, alto or
clarinet. He’s obviously a prolific composer too, every track
here being self-penned. The band assembled for this date, Robi Botos
on piano, Joey Goldstein on guitar, Victor Bateman on bass and Bob
McLaren on drums, are clearly also top notch players.
They negotiate the tricky theme of the opening title track with ease,
sax, guitar and piano so tight together they sound like one instrument,
then slip just as easily into the solos. ‘Top Dead Centre’
follows, a long (12 minutes) mid-tempo number with a relaxed, easy
swing. More interesting is ‘Intruder Alert’, which starts
out like a classical piece before surging into a soul-jazz workout,
the basic quintet augmented in the solo department by Bob Brough’s
extra tenor and Perry White’s baritone. Then there’s ‘No
More Victims’, a kind of post-bop samba tune with, again, excellent
soloing.
By this time, though, something’s beginning to bother me. Good
as it is, there seems to be a missing element, a feeling only confirmed
by the breezy ‘Bayview Extension’ featuring MacMurchy’s
clarinet. The album closes with ‘Through the Looking Glass’,
a ballad that at times sounds a bit like ‘My Funny Valentine’.
The alto solo is fluid, sensitive and finely judged; there is, in
fact, nothing at all wrong with it. And this, I think, is what’s
been nagging at me. The veneer of perfection (the production too is
faultlessly clear by the way) has been masking a basic lack.
Maybe it’s me, but I get this feeling a lot with contemporary
recordings from across the Atlantic: what’s missing seems to
be excitement, a sense of discovery and risk-taking, quirks, a touch
of fun. I get this sometimes with, say, the Yellowjackets, who can
be a bit po-faced even when they’re being jokey. I don’t
get it so much with a comparable European band like E.S.T., who are
just as virtuosic but somehow manage to maintain their sense of adventure.
On the other hand, I’m willing to accept that all this may be
just prejudice on my part and that I’m being unjustly chauvinistic
and Euro-centric. Let’s just say that a lot of the music coming
out of Britain at the moment seems more adventurous and exciting than
its contemporary North American equivalent (leaving aside the level
of technical skill involved). However, rather than end on a sour note,
let me repeat that this is a varied set of excellent tunes, excellently
played, and I’d certainly recommend that it’s worth having
a listen.
Reviewed by Steve Baxter