Keyboardist
Alex Maguire is a known commodity in Europe, but not so much in the U.S. He is connected with British fusioneers like the late
Elton Dean and
Pip Pyle, and for this group teams up with members of
the Wrong Object. Playing an electric keyboard and acoustic piano,
Maguire has the best of both creative improvised and fusion worlds in his hands, offering a music that retains all the solid elements of classic modern and contemporary jazz. These performances come from a concert performance at De Singer in Rijkevorsel, Belgium, for VPRO Radio in the Netherlands. What might surprise those who enjoy the slam-bang aspect of jazz-rock is the updated treatment given to this style of music by
Maguire. He's actually a sensitive piano player as exhibited on the opener "Psychic Warrior," played by just the rhythm section, which starts and stays introspective à la
Keith Jarrett, and much later is energized and animated. "John's Fragment" moves the saxophonist Robin Verheyen and trumpeter
Jean-Paul Estivienart into the fray with a heavy force in modal 9/8 time that has
Maguire switching back and forth from piano to synth organ, hipper as it steadily moves along. Bass guitar ostinato by
Damien Polard both distinguishes and supports the best pieces, "Saturn" and the famous
Dean standard "Seven for Lee," the former track a 16-minute spacy to free fusion jam with clattering percussion and the steely-edged electric guitar of
Michel Delville sounding very much like
Isotope's
Gary Boyle, the latter piece taken carefully and lovingly with horns and piano in perfect harmony.
Maguire's tinkling, meditative piano on "Theresa's Dress" contrasts the sighing horns in a great combination of counterpoint, improvisation, and composition in suggested or no time themes, with lots of space and some relative chaos. The grey-dark blue piano sound of
Mal Waldron comes to the fore on "Pumpkin Soup" in a kinetic duet with the soprano sax of Verheyen.
Maguire's liner notes relate this kind of music-making to an exercise in cooking, experimenting with different flavor profiles, spicings, and measured proportions. Using the just right amounts of various jazz styles from three different generations and continents, the result is a tasteful stew and brew of well-simmered music, easily enjoyable and recommended.