Artist: Robert Mitchell

Date of Release: 01/01/2009

Catalogue no: JSLCD002

Label: 33 Records

Price: £10

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Track Listing

Reviews

07/11/2008 John Fordham, The Guardian ****

This has to be British pianist Robert Mitchell's best album so far, a bold gamble by the UK jazz organisation Jazz Services on the likelihood of the ascetic Mitchell - frequently torn between contemporary-classical jazz and experimental nu-funk - coming out of his shell. He performs here with a sympathetic acoustic trio, including Tom Mason on bass and Richard Spaven providing a discreet percussion whisper - and, at times, a climactic alternative voice. Mitchell's phrasing is unusual: he improvises in unexpectedly juxtaposed motifs rather than long postbop lines. Nonetheless, he has a jazzier feel here than usual, with bluesy elided notes and bursts of vibrant swing. In its imaginative development of hooky material, The Greater Good hints at creative and typically circuitous listening to the Bad Plus, EST, and even a little Brad Mehldau. Wayne Shorter's Dance Cadaverous is playful, building through fast runs up to big chords and a swell of taut percussion. Ochre is a reflective piece that hints at a bashful, semi-hidden melody, and Massive Attack's Teardrop has Mason covering the theme against Mitchell's treble tinkles, the high, bowed bass eerily suggesting a wind instrument.