Search - Chris Dahlgren :: Best Intensions

Strange Bedfellows Making Magical Music

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 11/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd has no business working. A pianoless quartet with two alto (occasionally an alto and a soprano) saxophones as the front line, plus contrabass and percussion, one would think sonic boredom would soon set in. But Peter Epstein and Rob Brown are such different players, both from the standpoint of timbre and concept, that things are always interesting. Dahlgren himself has an unusual tone and concept in his bass playing. Sounding somewhere between two Charleses--Mingus and Hayden--he does this buzz thing (check out esp. the intro to The Wanderers) that lends unusual color to the proceedings. But what really brings it all together is percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. He's never sounded better, always bringing the exact right percussive coloration to the proceedings, be it hand drums, brushes on snares, rototoms, or sometimes perfect little obscure effects (what is that faint rattle on The Gadfly?).This is modern, artful, off-kilter, yet swinging jazz featuring some of the very best and most creative musicians on the scene today. Don't miss it."