THE VAMPIRES – SHELLOWDENE

More Guggenheim jazz from Sydney familiar Jeremy Rose – it seems he has his finger in many pies of late, releasing this CD as well as his solo work, Chiba (previously reviewed in City Hub). Admittedly, when this CD came across the desk I was half-expecting a difficult emo crunge; but was pleasantly surprised to see that is in fact a real jazz album, the instrumentation being that of a sparse cellar combo, and they really are terrific. Nick Garbett’s trumpet work is lucid and un-showy, Alex Boneham’s double bass plods and tweaks with considerable mastery. Alex Masso relies largely on brushes to conjure his percussive textures, the woody drums and bright, present snare really bind together the warm, graveyard-shift feel of this recording. Sax leader Jeremy Rose is an adept player, joining forces with Garbett on trumpet to deliver power-house dual melodies. This CD almost feels like an outtake from Henry Mancini’s Combo sessions, the guest percussion and occasional trombone blast completing the 1960’s pop-hop vibe. It’s all good stuff, not a complaint to be had from the standpoint of sequencing, composition, performance and overall sentiment; above all, it’s gentle good fun.

***1/2