XPQ VASIL XENOPOULUS/ NIGEL PRICE QUARTET

SIDEKICKS

Trio Records

For UK jazz guitar fans, Nigel Price is a well-known musician having played pretty much every jazz venue and festival around. Not only does he know his stuff but his choice of music to play live and to record is always well considered. This new album with saxophonist Vasil Xenopoulus is a case in point; 10 tracks of standards that were originally recorded by other sax and guitar collaborations. As a quartet, there’s lots of space for creativity and with Price as sole polyphonic musician he demonstrates that vibrant comping is as essential as exciting solos. Opener, Uh Huh (Grant Green/Hank Mobley) is a tasty swing blues where Nigel comps like a horn-section-meets-pianist with a solo that’s got feel and fire in abundance. Full House is a Wes Montgomery/Johnny Griffin groover that bristles with tight syncopations and a gorgeous sax solo. Tempo lowered and shimmering chords aplenty, When Joanna Loved Me is a lovely late-nighter, lyrical and emotional with one of Price’s best solos. Of course, hearing jazzers roasting is a thing to marvel; check out Ready And Able which demonstrates that indeed this quartet is more than willing to oblige!