SLAMCD279 Paul Dunmall, Matthew Bourne, Dave Kane & Steve Davis – Moment to Moment

The legendary powerful saxophonist Paul Dunmall teams up with the incredibly inventive free jazz trio of Bourne/Davis/Kane. The results sound like they have been playing together for years. Music of great depth and sincerity.

Recorded University of West England, 22nd June 2008.

Paul Dunmall: tenor saxophone
Matthew Bourne: piano, cello
Dave Kane: bass
Steve Davis: drums

“Dunmall, of course, has been producing top-class freely improvised music like this for decades now, but in Bourne, Davis and Kane he has found yet more kindred souls, able to interact with him in as satisfying a manner as any of his previous partners, Tippett, Rogers and Levin included.” – Chris Parker, vortexjazz.co.uk

“The three younger LIMA associates, Bourne, Davis and Kane are a working band with their own methods, but the addition of a revered tenor-man who cut his teeth in the spiritually-charged free-jazz revolutions of the late 60s/early 70s seems to lend this an extra layer of seriousness. In short, this is some heavy free jazz. There’s a sustained energy throughout – even in the more contemplative moments – that gives these spontaneous constructions an unflagging sense of coherence, structure and shape…Thank God someone’s still making them like this.” – Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise

“The music gives the lie to the impression some have of Dunmall as a barrel-chested howler. The musicians establish the basic musical territory as one which, if it’s not always exactly hushed, is restrained and focused more on group oscillations of sound than on blazing expressionism of the individual. And as compelling a player as Dunmall is in this regard, I found myself drawn particularly to the sensitive interaction between Bourne’s spacious piano and Kane’s upper-register arco. When the music does get rolling, it often heats up in unexpected ways…The standout piece is “Black sun,” which opens intensely with harsh scrapes and all kinds of groans and overtones, slowly elevating as it becomes a lively roar.” – Jason Bivins, Cadence

As “Voluntary Expressions” kicks into gear, upper-register reed squeaks vie for space along with piano key clips, reverberations from the wound internal piano strings and spiccato plucks from the bass. Soon a powerful rasgueado from Kane along with contrapuntal ruffs from Davis encourage the saxophonist’s shaking, slurry squeals. As Bourne rappels down the scale, then tears into connective chords, the reedist’s irregular pacing turns to horn-body splintering altissimo cries and guttural blasts. Finale involves Kane fuelling the interchange with triple-stopping and hand-pumping as the quadruple counterpoint dissolves into a flurry of repeated notes.” – Ken Waxman, Jazz Word

“One of the most intense sessions I have heard in some while…The clear, rich recorded sound ensures that even in the most complex passages of these outstanding improvisations, recorded in concert in Bristol, it is easy to follow the component parts of the collective sound.” – Barry Witherden, Jazz Journal

Engineered and mixed by Stephen Allan
Jigsaw painting by Lynda Dunmall
Design by Andy Isham

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