John L Walters
The Guardian, Friday May 26, 2006
There's no trace of "second-album syndrome" in Oriole's follow
up to Song for the Sleeping. Bandleader and prolific guitarist-composer
Jonny Phillips seems to have tunes coming out of his ears, yet he has
the discipline to make them into satisfying pieces. He also has a fantastic
team to interpret his compositions, mostly drawn from the F-ire Collective.
At the heart of the band is the subtle interplay between Phillips's lightly
phrased guitar, Ingrid Laubrock's tenor saxophone, Ben Davis's cello and
Adriano Adewale Itauna's percussion. Backed up by sympatico bass and drums,
the Oriole sound is a kind of South American or Spanish-tinged world-jazz
that is easy on the ear but rarely bland (though it would have benefited
from a more robust production).
And just when you think you know what to expect, Phillips adds another
timbre, such as Julia Biel's voice, or the reeds of Idris Rahman (from
the Soothsayers) to keep things interesting, or delivers a catchy crowd-pleaser
such as the double-sax-led Sunshine Continuous. Laubrock, who was outstanding
on the recent short tour with Guinga and Monica Vasconcelos, just gets
better and better.
