01/07/2010 Selwyn Harris - Jazzwise Magazine

Colman is a former young jazz musicisn of the year from Bristol who specialises on the flugelhorn, the mellowist member of the trumpet family. This is his straightahead bop-based group although he has had some success in a parallel career in the club world as one half of the Colman Brothers with trombone-playing sibling Mat.

Colman plays with a warm expressive tone and unruffled fluidity and is impressive throughout this CD on Luton-based 33 Records. He is joined by fellow Leeds College of Music alumni and Yorkshire-based pianist Jamil Sheriff, Manchester-alligned bassist Jon Thorne and the group’s elder statesman plus well-regarded drummer John Perry.

Colman cites the west coast trumpeter Conti Candoli as a major influence and while both standards ‘I Remember You’ and ‘You’ve Changed’ catch some of the era’s chamber bop sound, Colman’s cool unflustered approach is at odds with his hero’s fiery Dizzy-influenced temperament. Still the temperature begins to rise on ‘Just Friends’ and more sharply even on the grooving penultimate track , a version of ‘What’s The Secret’ written by the unsung veteran British flugelhornist Dick Pearce, featuring a propulsive groove from Manchester-based bassist Jon Thorne and some typically nimble percussion work from John Perry. Alongside Colman’s more crackling timbre on the final track, ‘Sonnymoon For Two’, the band steps up a few gears for the recording’s climax.
(3 Stars)

01/03/2010 Peter Vacher - Jazz UK

‘I Remember You’ (33 Jazz) by the Bristol based flugelhornist Andrew Colman’s Quartet is more conventional (than previous reviewed cd) and non the worse for that. Decent tunes explored with due care and attention, Colman unforced and clear, Jamil Sheriff’s piano at its best on Hancock’s ‘Speak Like A Child’.