Eastside’s Album for January 2011
Boggy Creek Bop – SNAP
Boggy Creek Bop is the debut release from SNAP, a new Australian saxophone quartet which can jump from fiery improvisations to complex written music at the drop of a beat. Their music encompasses bop, free jazz and world music, as well as a few styles that don’t have names yet. But it’s joyous and energetic, and appeals to both the emotions and the intellect.
The group features New York expatriate Phillip Johnston, and three of Sydney’s finest saxophonists: Sandy Evans, Paul Cutlan, and Nick Bowd. Their combined CVs include work with the Australian Art Orchestra, The catholics, Clarion Fracture Zone, MARA!, Guy Klucevsek, Gary Lucas, The Microscopic Septet, James Morrison, Mike Nock, ROVA, Mikel Rouse, Sousaphonics, Art Spiegelman, Lou Reed, Ten Part Invention, Gest8, and John Zorn. Individually, they have toured Australia, Asia, Europe, the US in various combinations.
The centrepiece of the CD is Five Portraits of Bellingen, a new work by Sandy Evans which evokes the sights and sounds of the NSW north coast. It pays tribute to the Gumbanggyir, the indigenous people of the Bellingen region and combines bebop, blues and African High Life in a uniquely Australian way. Phillip Johnston’s contributions to the CD draw on his extensive history in film scoring and Third Stream music. The CD also includes pieces by legendary classical/New Music accordionist Guy Klucevsek, and Allan Chase’s imagined meeting of Julius Hemphill and Howlin’ Wolf.
John Shand, in the Sydney Morning Herald, described their appearance at the 2007 Jazz: Now Festival at the Sydney Opera House as, “creating sonorities from the Ellingtonian to the spiky,” and music writer John Clare called them “full of early jazz quirkiness, impressionism and modernity…”
With cover art by Sydney artist Matthew Martin, and notes by the artists – SNAP will be performing at the Kinetic Jazz Festival 2011 at St Luke’s Church Hall on January 30th at 9.30 pm
Boggy Creek Bop by SNAP out now on Rufus Records