Rating: Four stars
Recorded at The Limerick Arms Hotel, South Melbourne in 1991 this new release, 23 years later, qualifies as a ‘golden oldies’ collection for both content and performers. There are five lengthy tracks, all standards delivered in a mainstream style by a top talent Melbourne quintet of the time. The high level of musicianship is obvious from the beginning of the opener Just Friends, as John Hoffman’s trumpet interweaves with Graeme Lyall’s alto sax in an impressive, winding contrapuntal intro passage. A slow-building, brisk piano solo from Tony Gould follows, and then in sequence the pure, honeyed tones of Lyall’s alto, Hoffman’s well-constructed trumpet solo, the singing precision of Ben Robertson’s acoustic bass, and a smartly phrased solo from Tony Floyd’s drums.
George Polyhronakos takes over the drumkit for two tracks, firstly Someone to Watch Over Me featuring a lyrical alto cadenza intro of beautiful construction extending leisurely into the ballad with just piano, sax and rhythm. I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face opens with unhurried piano roaming over the changes, sinking into an ultra-slow tempo for the sax to arrive in quickening exploratory runs backed by the piano’s well-placed chords and treble fills. Hoffman’s flugelhorn emerges for Freddie Hubbard’s Little Sunflower to harmonise attractively with the alto in the opening and later for an invigorating solo, sensitively exploring the melody before bursting into quick high register excitement. This grouping brought together some elite members of Australian jazz and the recording is a fascinating insight into their outstanding abilities at the time, musical attributes that still sound fresh after more than two decades.
Review by John McBeath
