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| Page 3 | Music Page - CD | July 2005 |
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[Ask Me Later, The Don Thompson Quartet, |
By Alidė Kohlhaas There was a time when jazz was the music of my life. Then, somehow I drifted away from this form of music and the various classical genres captured my imagination. Now, it would seem, 'real' jazz has moved into a kind of classical genre of its own, the kind that Oscar Peterson used to play, or a Dave Brubach or a Stan Getz, to mention a few. Well, having found my way back to jazz in the past few years, I must include Don Thompson among this group of talented players, who still want to groove and excite instead of sailing along on the 'smooth jazz' ship where they serve Pablum instead of steak and potatoes. Now, that may not be a very poetic metaphor, but I think you may get my meaning. Thompson, playing on vibes and piano, has just come out with a new CD, Ask Me Later, that also features Phil Dwyer on saxophones, Jim Vivian on double bass, and Terry Clarke on drums. It offers the kind of jazz that seems both fresh and yet eternal. This group knows how to play together. Thompson has a strong influence on today's generation of jazz musicians through his various teaching assignments at York University and at Humber College in Toronto. There he spends much time playing and writing music for his various ensembles and classes.
There are nine tunes on this CD, all of them written by Thompson. The titles are imaginative, often based on wordplay, and yet quite fitting at times. April Snow, the second tune on the recording, has some great soprano sax lines. The first tune is built on the chords of The Song is You, and so Thompson aptly named it You are the Song. Waltz in 3/4 Time features a great bass with the piano just hinted in the background and then the sax coming in, oh so smoothly, extending itself until it becomes the dominant feature of the song only to fade away to make space again for the piano. One could go on extolling the virtues of this jazz CD, but it would just rob you of seeking it out to find out its virtues yourself. This is real jazz, not fun jazz. Thanks, Don Thompson. By the way, the sound of the recording is excellent as well, at least on my stereo. |
