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I can't make up my mind 12 Jan 2006
about this disc. Is it a relaxed, controlled blowing session covering some choice standards and one or two lesser known tunes, or is it derivative, cliched and anaemic?
In its favour, this disc is very very easy to listen to, and much of it is really enjoyable. Hamilton is a very talented melodist with a warm, rounded tone, and one should not underestimate the skill required to produce an improvisation that never strays into excess or bombast. His backing team is equally restrained, never overstepping the line into agression or attempting to dominate the listener.
However, it is the content of Hamilton's improvisations that causes me to raise an eyebrow. Even as I listened to this disc for the first time I found I could sing along with the solos, so heavily does he rely on stock phrases and turnarounds. His vocabulary of these devices is large, but the impression Hamilton gives is more frequently that of reviewing old ideas rather than creating new ones.
I would never say this is a bad disc: the musicianship on display is of too high a standard to assert anything of the sort. However, I'm just not sure if it really is anything more than a pleasant jam.
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