Laying Down a Path in Walking
Jiem
Earshift Music
Contemporary jazz is about progression and finding new ways to make its music touch hearts and minds. The great thing is that it does not like to sit still for long, and its musicians are continuously devising ways to provide a unique listening experience. Sydney-based contemporary jazz quintet Jiem exemplify this premise in their latest release.
Co-led by the horn players Tessie Overmeyer and Miles Rooney, and supported by Harry Birch on bass, Matthew Harris on piano and Ryu Kodama on drums, this quintet pulsates with an energy of discovery throughout a range of compositions from powerful ballads to complex improvisational pieces that highlight the abundant talents and collective strength of the ensemble. The eight original compositions provide an array of rhythmic and harmonic variations for the musicians, shifting between the extremes of quiet intensity and audacious ferocity.
Favourite tracks include King Rat, with its through composed melody and a stand-out solo from Overmeyer, and the melodic Through a Lens, showcasing two of this country’s supremely virtuosic players, weaving in and around the pianist’s tight melodic manipulations, with a premature veteran-like ease.
– Barry O’Sullivan
This CD review was published in the November issue of Fine Music Magazine.