John Parricelli Alba

Impressive quartet-based outing from John Parricelli, a highly competent session guitarist and sideman turned leader and collaborator with some of the best UK jazz artists. Alba is not a particularly cohesive album, but it does serve to display Parricelli's broad ranging playing and composing abilities along with those of his very capable bandmembers Dudley Phillips (bass), Mark Lockheart (saxophone) and Martin France (drums): from a superb opening modal "All Blues"-like post-bebop with cascading runs, edgy rawness and some chunky gutteral comping, and a very well measured spacey shuffle that would be at home on any ECM Garbarek or Metheny album repleat with smokey percussion and resonating Eberhard Weber bass tones, to perhaps the highlight of the album, a beautifully laid-back, lolloping, tender ballad reminiscent of Johnny Dyani and Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim). In fact, Parricelli seems to like South African jazz, the head to the very next track also smacks of Ibrahim or Massekela. The other cuts that steer towards the smooth side and Bossa Nova, including the title track, are less exciting but accomplished in themselves.

This album surely places John Parricelli among the best of the UK best.