Oct 1, 2004
Intrada
Alan Matheson Nonet
AM/Festival
Alan Matheson knows his jazz history. The Vancouver composer, cornet/flugelhorn player and pianist isn't didactic or dogmatic about showing it, though. He has managed on Intrada to integrate references to musicians as distinct as Bix Beiderbecke and Charles Mingus into a program of septet and nonet pieces that holds together very well on its own understated but sure-handed terms. Matheson is a tuneful writer with an easygoing sense of melody and a light orchestral touch around the reeds, brass and rhythm instruments in his band. The performances here, by a capable group of Vancouver players, date from 1993 to 2000, but the music itself sits comfortably outside any particular time frame.
- Mark Miller
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Bio - Press - Pictures - Press Kit - Curriculum Vitae