Artist: Martin Speake

Date of Release: 01/01/1997

Catalogue no: SPJ-(CD)558

Label: Spotlite

Price: £12

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Track Listing

Appearances by

Phil Lee

Featuring Martin Speake on alto saxophone, Pete Saberton on piano, Phil Lee on guitar, Mick Hutton on bass, and Bryan Spring on drums. Most of the tracks on this album are jazz standards and include compositions by Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker and Wayne Shorter. Recorded in 1996 and released in 1997.

Reviews

01/01/1997 Ian Carr

"The album Amazing Grace is a truly exceptional album of contemporray jazz which offer fresh view of the tradition. The music consists of one superb original by Speake and the other ten pieces are unusual standards each given a unique and in some cases audacious treatment. the different approaches also benefit from a variety of instrumental combinations because Speake performs in duo/trio/quartet and quintet settings. This juxtaposition of familiarity and surprise is heightened by the fine ensemble playing and solos of the highest order - imaginative and alive with human feeling. Martin Speake has absorbed all his influences and comes up with a passionately lyrical style all of his own. His flow and pacing are exemplary and he never overplays - every note, every pause, is organic....These five musicians are virtuosi whose considerable technique is at the service of heartfelt imagination and the result is an album of consummate artistry."

01/01/1997 Chris Parker

"As anyone who's heard his recent Spotlite album Amazing Grace knows, Speake is a skilful interpreter of jazz's core material, bringing to it an appealing mix of earnest lyricism and gutsy improvisational intelligence".