Nine songs infatuate the modern equivalent of a
power-quartet that gets off to a flying start. Leaping out of the gates are
Troy Roberts (on soprano saxophone for starters), Silvano Monasterios on piano,
Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums together with his old doppelgänger on bass, Robert
Hurst. The visceral energy from this group is palpable as Troy Roberts puts his
fellow musicians through their paces. In their hands these musicians essay
forth with fastidiously-controlled moods and tonal colors. In these hands is
also musical revelation. The tempo of each song is cool or hot, and deliberate,
the passagework vivid and playful; that playfulness segues into profundity as
the music transitions into Rivera Mountain where every bar of the music is
infused with visionary authority as a soft hail of gem-like notes rush, gleam,
resonate and bounce out of the horn of Troy Roberts, a young saxophonist who,
as it turns out is now being hailed as Australia’s gift to the art of Jazz
saxophone.
Tales & Tones
focuses on the narrative aspect of Roberts’ playing while also highlights his
facility with the tonal palette of his choice of woodwind instruments. The
soundscape of this recording features a rush of boisterous Jazz pieces laced
together with elegiac reflections such as Rivera
Mountain. In the soundscape drenched with polyrhythms created by the
emphatic sleight-of-hand of “Tain” Watts’ drums and low growl of Hurst’s bass,
Roberts is kept on his toes throughout. To his enormous credit, the young
saxophonist is every bit as responsive to the rhythmic prodding of the drummer
and the bassist. The pianist Monasterios, for his part keeps up with both the
breakneck as well as the laid-back balladry with even-handed rhythms that are
crisp and buoyant even as virtuoso passagework is dashed off with
devil-may-care abandon. This is truly impressive playing by every member of the
quartet and one of the best places to enjoy this is on Billy Strayhorn’s Take The A Train with its wonderfully
swing changes in tempo.
Fleeting moments in the more introvert pieces such as Bernie’s Tune and Pickapoppy feature expressive gestures (dynamic swells, romantic
ritardandos and elaborate cadential flourishes by Roberts. This kind of musical
treatment is diametrically opposite to what happens elsewhere, where the music
is forcefully pummeled – especially by “Tain” – as in the show-opener,
Decoration. However, here too, even “Tain” and Hurst are careful to avoid
overkill. On Rivera Mountain, for instance,
the drummer is at his most eloquent as the mood is more introspective and his
big, bold hammer-throws are replaced by stirring the pea-soup with muted,
delicate brushwork which, in turn, paints the melody with an undercoat of soft,
glowing colors. Hurst is no less genteel, even when his bass sings with
characteristic gravitas. Not to be outdone, Monasterios chips in with his own
subtly varied pastel hues delivered with delicacy and at an unusually gentle
pace.
There is so much remarkable talent and attention to detail
in the individual playing on this recording, all of which slides into an
ensemble venture that is gilded and interlocked with silken threads that’s hard
to find on so many quartet albums today.
Tracks:
Decoration; Trams; Rivera Mountain; Bernie’s Tune; Cotu Chi Chi Chi; Take The A
Train; Pickapoppy; Mr. Pinononnk; Boozy Bluesy.
Personnel: Troy
Roberts: tenor & soprano saxophones; Silvano Monasterios: piano; Robert
Hurst: acoustic bass; Jeff “Tain” Watts: drums.