Reviews
Andy Parsons: A Whole Nother
Story
(Sons of Sound SSPCD007)
"Though their experiences run the full gamut
of modern jazz, here the players concentrate
on a comfortable brand of music that avoids both
avant-garde pretentiousness and smooth-jazz barrenness… These
players work together with the oneness of a band
that’s been together for decades,
and the compositions (all by Parsons) are an
engaging mix… There is a typical
contemporary-jazz flair and polish to the tunes,
although they
don’t suffer from the sterile production
that curses the “smooth jazz” industry. I
was surprised at the number of devious turns
in the music here… Parsons is
the predominant voice throughout, and Lewin
offers up the ideal kind of rhythmic support,
dead-on-target for each musical style and twist… [The
band's]
sound is smoother than some presently popular types
of fusion, but certainly
more adventurous and inviting than much music that
clutters the contemporary jazz market.
These cats aren’t just in it for the cash
and attention, and the live tracks here show they
don’t need studio wizards to clean up after
them and make the album sound presentable. Their
act is all together and highly entertaining…" [read
the review]
— All About Jazz, January 2001
"… The music is a briskly flowing
amalgam of acoustic and electric fluency…
The
electric segments have more of the characteristics
of fusion, while the acoustic parts take an incisive,
forward moving post-bop path… The two leaders kick
off most songs with concise theme statements,
then spring loose to allow for
their driving brand of improvisation. Lewin is
not an overpowering percussionist but instead sets
a directional path with precision drumming filled
with prodding accents and a pressing beat. Parsons
often pairs with the guitarists in unison play,
and they leap forward from there. The solos
of Parsons, particularly those on tenor, spiral
upward with seemingly casual ease. Holober's
well-developed acoustic piano solos build in tension
and maintain the thrust that signifies the direction
of the band. Fundementia probes two definitive
areas of jazz and accomplishes its goal on both
of them. Whether acoustic or electric, they get
down to business." [read
the review]
— Cadence, January 2001
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