Friday, August 26, 2011

Ralph Atkinson - Flashing 12 o'clock Ft Tim Lowe

Hear The Track Here

Tim Lowe makes an appearance on Ralph Atkinson's Flashing 12 o'clock which pleases me in two ways; he plays tenor sax on this and he's from the UK. Ralph, of course, hails from Canada and is IMHO one of the finer Soundclick Canadian musicians around, easily adapting himself - so it seems - to genre after genre. All done to a fine art. Mind you, he's been around a bit and that always helps to sharpen one's musical vision. Oh, and btw, please shoot me saying for 'one', I mean one doesn't do that, does one?

Flashing (ooo missus!!!) is billed as a Jazz ballad, and while I have an enduring love for jazz, ballads can die with festering boils as far as I am concerned. There are some (very) few Soundclick musicians who can actually deliver something worthwhile in this genre (333maxwell springs to mind) and Ralph, damnit I wouldn't put anything past the guy. I am an enormously lucky man, living in a city that holds one of the finest jazz clubs in the world - Ronnie Scott's - and I've spent many a great night there listening to jazz. It's got to be real, know what I mean?

The really wonderful thing about our Ralph is that the man is a consummate musician, songwriter and producer, furthermore a musician who appeals to a lot of people in a lot of ways. Can't think of many (or even any) bad tracks given to me by this musician, but Flashing 12 o'clock is in a league of it's own. Not only is so crisp and clean you could eat you dinner of it, but the delivery (especially the sax solo) steals the show. The very best kind of jazz, looks oh so easy, almost impossible to get right. Except here, apparently.

MUST HAVE Jazz (yay) ballad (gulp)

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