|
|
Sunday 25 February 2007 BASQUIAT STRINGS
The most interesting disc to emerge so far from the London-based Fire turns out to be an extension of that most traditional of forms, the string quartet. Augmented by Richard Pryce’s double bass and the exceptionally subtle drumming of the cult figure Seb Rochford, Ben Davis’s group proves that it really is possible for string players to coexist with the spirit of improvisation. Lonely Woman undergoes a rapt and all-too-brief metamorphosis, but it is Davis’s original compositions that make the strongest impression. Basquiat Strings could just turn out to be one of the most unlikely successes of the year. |