Best of Intentions: Martin Speake Quartet

I'd been almost unaware of altoist Martin Speake until I saw him pop up on a Colchester Arts Centre Jazz Club flyer. I vaguely recalled seeing his name around here and there, but hadn't been tempted to rush out and see him thus far.

By a strange co-incidence I unearthed his 2002 CD Hullabaloo during one of my rummages in Ray's second-hand racks a few days later. It turned out to be rather good, so I persuaded Jazzy G to venture out to CACJC on 22 April, to catch Speake's quartet. 

If I'm totally up-front here, the fact that the line-up included Ethan Iverson of Bad Plus fame, and one of my favourite drummers in James Maddren might have swung it for me.

And what a good decision it turned out to be. Speake's tone on the alto is super clean, almost soprano like at times, yet warm enough to coax the latin vibes from Dancing In The Dark, an exquisite cover of what I'm informed (by Jazzy G, of course) is a Broadway show tune. Iverson was also a revelation on that number, a world away from my expectations with a solo that could've been by Danilo Perez.

The set showcased the latest release, Intention, with a few additional tracks thrown in. The CD was doing great sales by the end of the evening, as well it might - this was top class stuff. I hadn't encountered Fred Thomas before, but will definitely keep an eye out for this fine bassist. And Maddren somehow manages to grab beats you didn't even know were there, and make you hear them.  

Highly recommended - check out the album