Blow is a collaborative effort from two extremely talented musicians, Graham Jesse and Adrian Cunningham. The album features both artists displaying their multi-instrumental capabilities backed by a tight ensemble featuring some of Sydney’s finest jazz musicians in Matt McMahon, Brendan Clarke and Hamish Stuart. Graham plays tenor, soprano and flute, while Adrian sticks with tenor and clarinet for this outing. An eclectic collection of audience-friendly original compositions by both leaders make up the majority of this album. The playing is tasteful and engaging and all of the songs are accessible and listenable. This is definitely not an album to frighten casual jazz listeners.
One of the bonus pleasures of this recording is listening to Graham’s flute playing throughout. I enjoyed his gorgeous sound and the fluency of his soling every time he played. Credit should be given to the recording engineer who did a great job of capturing the warmth and depth of Graham’s tone.
Congratulations to all involved in this album – great playing, interesting compositions and well recorded. A worthy addition to the Australian jazz library.
~ Matt Christensen