Fusion produces blasts of sonic heat
John Shand - Sydney Morning Herald, 3rd June 2004
CARL DEWHURST QUARTET
[ Excelsior Hotel, June 1 ]
Ever since Elvis Presley's pelvic gyrations punted jazz from centre stage into the wings of popular music, rock and jazz have made uncomfortable bedfellows. A dozen years later they tried kissing and making up, although only a handful of artists extended the flirtation into a deep and meaningful relationship. The 1970s threw up countless examples of these star-crossed lovers generating the worst of both worlds: jazz musicians with a penchant for platform shoes, and rock musicians with a penchant for mass-producing notes.
Some of the best jazz-rock of recent times has come from Australian musicians with a genuine understanding of both forms, and with something fresh to say. Guitarist Carl Dewhurst , one of the warmest and most versatile jazz musicians to emerge here in the past decade, had a youthful infatuation with rock, which still bubbles to the surface given half a chance.
Six years ago his quartet recorded its first CD, Put Put Put, and in that time the band has evolved considerably: from cool jazz with a funky edge to paint-peeling blasts of sonic heat.
Here Dewhurst, keyboard player Stu Hunter , bassist Cameron Undy and drummer Warren Trout were launching their second CD, Live (Jazzgroove ), and raising the temperature a few more degrees. On Kenny B Dewhurst showed he could easily have typecast himself as a supreme blues guitarist, not just because of his ability to make the instrument cry, but also because of his delicate touch as filigree little runs faded to a vanishing point near the horizon.
Go the 80s was a monument to excess, with howls of distortion, bullying flams from the drums, thumping bass riffs and squalls of keyboard pandemonium. A new three-part suite called The Phoenix Trilogy was more avant-rock than jazz, although the rhythm section remained supremely supple as the guitar and synthesizer converged in a secret tryst where the identities of both were blurred. If the band took time to reach this pitch, it was worth waiting for.
They had been preceded by the debut of The Green Septet, a band led by guitarist Jess Green , which hopefully will turn out to be a sustainable environment for her brilliantly crafted compositions. A very auspicious beginning.