Ron Everett
The Glitter Of The City

Strange drum patterns, cool jazzy melodies and a tenor sax going crazy make the first tune and you could imagine Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock jamming. Suddenly this tune, "Royal walk" turns weird. A spoken word part sets in which feels like the guy (Ron Everett) reading a poem or something. But before you know what happens the original freak jazz part returns to close this sweet tune. What comes next A gentle 50s style Latin pop effort with a great female singer delivering some hot vocals. Somehow a 70s flair hangs above the songs you just cannot tell why it feels this way. The complex rhythm patterns here move straight into your blood and the sweet melodies pull up the sun at the beach. The whole composition generates an atmosphere of easy leisure and still there is this edgy, free playing from the brass section which reminds us this was a band rooted in the field of progressive jazz. Pop works well with Ron Everett and soon you understand what is going on. This raw yet vivid sound makes the atmosphere of a live performance. But the third number "Tipsy woman" is a typical relaxed funk song of the 70s with just a little free jazz spicing it up. Great electric piano performance here and the laid back and lascivious vocals are the icing on the cake. Utterly cool and sexy. All in all there is quite a bit Latin music thrown in the mix and this band performs it fairly well with passion and an extra share of fire in the heart. The groove infuses this record from the first to the last note. Polyrhythmical webs of beats and percussion sounds held together by a rather relaxed bass guitar spin a musical cocoon around your soul. The performances are all quite impressive and should even catch the attention of a sophisticated jazz fan. The raw and unpolished sound surely adds a lot to the mythical atmosphere of this album even though it might be a bit much for the average pop fan in this genre. Well, this Ron Everett album is a gift for the real lovers of strange but beautiful music.