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Flipside by Flipside

Flipside

Release Date: 10/27/1998

Recording Date: 10/1998

Tracks: 8

Length: 01:03:17 Hrs

Label: Naxos

Type: CD

Album Tracks (8)

Song Title
Length
1.
The Magic Beans
08:12
2.
Numéro 6
07:12
3.
Stretch
05:29
4.
The Muses
10:16
5.
Elder Days
08:00
6.
Nude
07:03
7.
Big Deal
08:38
8.
High Times
08:27

What the Critics Say

On this 1998 release, Flipside seems to seek answers to some intriguing questions: How would the early Weather Report sound today with a cool-toned guitarist instead of Joe Zawinul's keyboards? What would the mid-'60s Miles Davis group have been like with George Benson as a regular member, rather than as simply a guest on a few tracks? In exploring scenarios such as these, Flipside reveals a world rich in possibilities remaining to be discovered. While its name suggests otherwise, this quartet of two New Zealanders, a Parisian, and an Ulster man is serious about making music that matters. The group's accessible sound is an effective study in contrasts and tension, where a dry, at times cerebral, approach is constantly set ablaze by the subtle fury of Belfast-born drummer Darren Beckett. Paired with Beckett in the rhythm section, bassist Matt Penman announces himself as a force to be reckoned with, especially during a thundering, walking bass duet with Beckett on guitarist Greg Tuohey's "Stretch." The moment is pure adrenaline. Penman also wrote four of the eight originals that make up the CD. The quartet's quieter side comes through in the gentle jazz waltz of saxophonist Jérôme Sabbagh's "Numéro 6," in Penman's reflective "The Muses," and in Tuohey's ballad "Nude." Even in these more subdued moments, the vigorous jazz pulse always percolating within is a particularly appealing facet of Flipside. For listeners who have ever pondered "what if?" about certain avenues of contemporary jazz left untraveled or abandoned too quickly, Flipside has found some answers of its own, and they make for potent music. ~ Jim Todd, Rovi

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