Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Casey Golden, Independent 2018.
Casey Golden is an ex-patriot pianist and composer who is now based in London but originally hailed from Sydney.
Atlas is the first release from his new London-based band that is comprised of Alex Munk on guitar, Henrik Jensen on bass, Will Glaser on drums, with Casey of course on piano.
He has released four albums to date, the last two being, Outliers (2015) and Miniature (2016) with his Sydney-based trio (named after their 2015 release).
Casey’s music is best described as modern jazz although there are elements of rock and even a tinge of pop that finds its way into the mix.
All the tracks on the disc are instrumentals and the playing is superb.
The assembled musicians strike a happy balance between intricate and often floating improvisations and melodic jazzy tracks that are quite approachable even to the jazz novice.
This is not always an easy task to achieve, especially with music that demands the listeners attention because of its intelligence and complexity.
There is little doubt that Casey is not only a talented pianist but also a composer of substantial ability and he’s surrounded himself with some extremely gifted musicians.
Their interplay is intoxicating.
The space they create via careful note selection gives the work remarkable clarity.
Casey’s work has impressed the critics and accolades abound:
“It’s rare that a musical vision is so complete, and completely of its own world” Australianjazz.net
“Enjoyable, intriguing and stimulating… Casey Golden would appear to be one of the brightest and most original young talents on the Australian jazz scene” The Jazz Mann UK.
I do love a little jazz every now and then and I have to say that I was impressed by this album.
The album is out now to stream and download via the usual on-line outlets.
