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CD Reviews: RICK PECKHAM : Left End (Perfected Music. PM1001)
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Posted by: Adminon Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 01:16 PM |
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Paul Donnelly
Largely eschewing the regular influences displayed by jazz guitar trios Peckham and his associates have come up with their own take on the power trio that fuses jazz and rock in sometimes unexpected ways. He wears his rock influences for all to hear from the outset with a Led Zep homage full of choppy licks and a barrage of rhythms from drummer Jim Black and acoustic bass man Tony Scherr.
Continuing to pay tribute to the rock pantheon there’s ‘Mr Medium’ which Peckham describes as his ‘take on Mr Big’ the old Free favourite, featuring the late Paul Kossoff. He retains that sharp edged riff as an opener, the sound not quite like Kossoff’s except for the power he often exhibited. But then it isn’t meant to be an exact copy. You may remember Andy Frazer’s rubbery bass lines were also a highlight of the original and this time Scherr’s mobile muscularity on acoustic bass is an equally exciting feature.
I thought ‘Shakey’, his nod in Neil Young’s direction, would be a more grungy affair. While Peckham goes for an expansive sound he doesn’t try to approximate that wired excess that Young takes pleasure in. His name check continues with a piece named after the ZZ Top guitarist. ‘Gibbons’ finds one guitar trio echoing another as the guitarist peals off cascades of sustained, bluesy string-benders while Black supports him with high energy battery from around the kit.
Of course there are other sides to this trio and they offer two examples of improvisation, ‘Free 1 and 2’, which draw on aspects of jazz vocabulary and construct entirely different textures that rely on interactions of another kind. From an equally interesting jazz tradition they choose to re-visit Monk’s ‘Evidence’, a composition which suits the sometimes spiky, angular style of Peckham’s playing. Black’s ever inventive rhythmic attack also fits the tune perfectly while Scherr walks the bass alongside the guitarist’s liquid explorations.
It is refreshing to hear work that bears the influence of Grant Green along with those various schools of rock guitar without a trace of incongruity. I hope his debut as a leader encourages Peckham to release more of these interesting ‘fusions’.
Paul Donnelly
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