Picture August

• Artist: Mick Beck & Stephen Grew
• Rating:
• Release Date: 2000
• Genre: Jazz

Review

Recorded at a chapel at St. Martin's College, the sound is slightly marred by the spaciousness of the venue, as if it came from deep down in a well. The music, though, compensates well enough, with the outgoing Mick Beck supported amply by pianist Stephen Grew. A wealth of moods and emotions are explored by the freewheeling duo, the only limitations being the imaginations of the performers. The sax/piano combination, though, wears thin after awhile, with a sense that some of it has been done before by others. The disjointed quality of some of the pieces, such as the invigorating "Is There a Race Against Time?," is actually a plus, as the disorienting rhythms knock the listener off guard. Beck's bassoon playing adds variety, too, as does his work on recorders on, for example, the eclectic "Think and Whistle." In the liner notes, Beck refers to the mix of "interrogative humor with musicality." The humor is often subtle, while the level of musicality remains at a high keel. On the representative "Little Drummer Boy," Stephen Grew darts in and out of time and rhythm, while Beck jabs and pokes notes sporadically, eventually falling into an intense groove. The pianist incorporates repetitive elements, with the saxophonist swirling notes as though he were locked inside a twirling drum. Lean by nature of the setting and the instrumentation, the duo favors abrupt endings and dramatic changes in volume and tempo, something that is more easily accomplished with a small number of performers. ~ Steven Lowey, Rovi

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