Paul Towndrow - Outwith The Circle (2023) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Outwith The Circle
02. K C Point / Arthurs Reel
03. Wrong Party
04. Cutting Bracken / Buain Na Rainich
05. The Middle Cut
06. Aniva
07. Split The Difference
08. The Only Source Of Knowledge

After 2021’s epic large-group work Deepening The River, saxophonist, composer and arranger Paul Towndrow is back with another collection of original material. He has clearly not been letting the grass grow under his feet; co-founding crossover group Atlantic Road Trip with Chicago based trumpeter Chad McCullough and Slovakian vibraphonist Miro Herak, touring with long-term friends The Fratellis and appearing as part of the Celtic Connections Big Band at their huge gala concert last month.

Outwith The Circle sees Towndrow slimming down musically to perhaps the bare minimum, an organ trio. Organist and keyboard player Pete Johnstone is becoming a regular and welcome presence on the Scottish scene, recently touring the UK with Helena Kay, while Alyn Cosker is unchallenged on the drum stool in recent years. Together they present eight tracks with a variety of top-line guests adding cameos and variety along the way.

The album opens dramatically with radio crackling and a terse distorted voice saying “Everything’s OK… wait a minute!”, with shades of Richard Burton in Where Eagles Dare or something out of 1970s BBC sci-fear show Doomwatch. It turns out that it’s Towndrow himself creating the ambiance, credited with ‘whistlings and mutterings’ on the sleeve. The opening title track opens into a majestic theme of the kind Towndrow is so adept in creating with Alyn Cosker adding colour with drums and cymbals, developing into a shuffling lope with alto sax solo followed by a typically engaging Johnstone section on organ...

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [mp3]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]