All sorts of styles converge in the music of Jon Hassell, which emerges as something of a hybrid that can be enjoyed by anyone from jazz music lovers to Brian Eno disciples. Hassell is a trumpeter but also has a vivid imagination for electronic sounds. His vivid sonic imagination is key in the success of this album, for when these pieces are heard on headphones they create individual perspectives and landscapes in sound. Held textures shimmer in the distance, while in the foreground more urgent riffing often takes place, with nervy percussion and wary bass sounds building up an unusual tension. Yet where Hassell really excels is in his incorporation of jazz styles to evocations of places. ‘Mombasa’ is an urban landscape, really well realised, but the energy in the bass writing that means it’s far from ambient, and is constantly fidgeting. Yet by contrast on the live disc – a helpful and all too rare inclusion from All Saints – ‘Nightsky’ is an absolutely lovely piece of ambience, evoking a hot summer’s night with distant sounds, warm bass, soothing keyboard pads and close up snippets of insect and birdlife. Yet this too gets a bit paranoid as things move on, a sign that Hassell doesn’t always enjoy city life – though the pictures he makes of it are incredibly vivid.
5 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
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