Moving the Landscapes

Moving the Landscapes settles into a continuous exploration of styles and sonorities in which Roger Dean's sensitive keyboard playing shines and Sandy Evans' sax playing...is extremely expressive, almost vocal.

The minds of three musicians experienced in this kind of music making...gives confidence and daring to self-expression.

Track after track here commands our attention, not just with the drama of what austraLYSIS can do but with the variety of means, instrumentally and rhythmically, and the degree of emotion they are prepared to risk. What I liked best of all was the inwardness these performers develop, the sense we get of their moving off alone, without compromising the drama of interplay; most of all, without ever releasing tension. This is improvisation that offers increased pleasure at every hearing.

The tour de force of the album is Hardly Moving, from all points of view: formal structure, instrumental virtuosity (from all three performers), choice and blend of acoustic and electronic sound sources, the consistently sustained musical process of stretching from one musical style through others and back to the original, the tight ensemble playing and group improvisation, musical vigour and energy, and finally, the execution of sound engineering/mixing which is always fully supportive of all the elements in the piece.

The style, tempo and general character of the pieces vary greatly but tend towards the accents and phrasing of jazz when the propulsion of the music is strongly marked. The disc is often inviting in its material and vividly recorded.

For the TRULY adventurous.