Artist: Greg Morgan
Title: Spirit of Light
Cat Number: SLAMCD221
Year released: 1996
Format: CD & all digital platforms
Barcode: 5028386022121
Saxophone and drums duo recording from 1995 between Greg Morgan (C melody saxophone, synthesizer) and Chas Ambler (drums, percussion).
“Plaintively beautiful without, thankfully, sentimentality.” – Bruce Coates, Rubberneck
“Morgan and Ambler have experience that stretches back to the world of blues, soul and even rock. Approaching improvisation from such a background elicits contrasting responses but it seems to work for both men. There is certainly an earthy quality to Morgan’s C-melody excursions and it complements the strongly contoured melodic lines he delivers. His playing in Parts 2, 4, 6 and 7, in particular suggests an Ayler-like desolation and this is further emphasized by a wide old-time vibrato that brings him to the brink of bathos. Ambler’s busy drum figures do not display the ponderous, rhythmic insistence of soul or rock, tending rather to flutter very effectively in tandem with the horn line, while at the same time being sympathetic to it. The synthesizer is used with discretion and adds effectively to the overall texture of the two-man ensemble. Above all else, the music is not cloaked in complexity. It is lyrical, heartfelt and delivered with a sincerity that should communicate with all who like to trace the melodic progress of their free jazz.” – Barry McRae, Jazz Journal
“Saxophonist Greg Morgan invokes the muezzin trance of late Coltrane in Spirit of Light. C-melody sax (halfway between tenor and alto) gives it a new twist.” – Ben Watson, Hi-Fi News & Record Review