Biography of Sam Coombes

Outlines is English alto saxophonist Sam Coombes’s third album under his own name and marks his full return to the British music scene after a seven-year period during which he was based in Paris. His previous album Static Shock (2005), published on the prestigious independent French label Elabeth (www.elabeth.com), received copious amounts of critical acclaim on both sides of the channel. Static Shock was completed in partnership with pianist Rob Chapman and their joint-led Paris-based quartet.

Unlike his previous albums, Outlines was recorded with two rhythm sections, one British and one French, and as such is representative of Coombes’s continuing dual involvement in the jazz scenes of both countries. The liner notes were contributed by Jean-Marc Gelin, a respected columnist on France’s best known jazz journal Jazz Magazine. The album is made up very largely of original compositions by Coombes in the contemporary mainstream and postbop style, and demonstrates clear artistic evolution both in the range of compositional approaches employed and in the stylistic breadth and originality of Coombes’s saxophone performances.
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