Haslam, George/Freetime - 2002/2003/2004
SKU
SLAM320
One of the few really free spirits of British jazz, baritone saxman George Haslam has spent much of his career collaborating with kindred spirits across the globe. In the course of his peregrinations he has performed in Cuba and Argentina one of the first to do so and Eastern Europe. This set keeps up that tradition, documenting gigs and collaborations with the Czech quartet Freetime in local clubs across the republic between 2002 and 2004. While the emphasis may be on isolating differing regional characteristics in the style of music the group plays as they travel around the country, Haslam demonstrates a fine discerning ear in editing and collating what must have been mountains of material into a cohesive and vibrant set that consciously eschews any hint of novelty. Indeed when Haslam takes up the tarogato to quote Messrs Cook and Morton in the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, a Hungarian instrument of parallel antiquity to the saxophone he succeeds in amplifying the pastoral idioms latent in so much Eastern European music. But if the pastoral idioms are embraced this is not to the exclusion of all else, Haslam and his gang sometimes embark on very free improvisations before reverting to some post-bop riffing. At its heart Haslams Freetime is more about having a good time exploring fresh avenues to see what will happen next, so to that extent one cannot regard this set as a fully-rounded body of work. But as a journal and a voyage of discovery it is very persuasive and endlessly intriguing, providing plenty of room for speculation over which way Haslam will jump next.-Hugh Gregory Jazz Review, August 2005 [SLAM]