Dave Jones Quartet – Resonance
(DJT005, CD Review by Chris Parker)

His “Journeys” trio now augmented by multi-instrumentalist Lee Goodall, Dave Jones has produced a characteristically attractive, wholly accessible album in Resonance, the music on it, as is usual with the Port Talbot pianist/composer, made up of relatively straightforward, often riff-based original material, played with panache and pep by a band completed by regulars Ashley John Long (bass) and Lloyd Haines (drums), the latter replaced on three tracks by Kevin Lawler.

The strings of the Mavron Quartet and – on other pieces – a brass section join Jones’s quartet on three tracks each, and bring welcome textural variety to the mix, but the album’s immediacy and power are derived from the uncomplicated directness of the compositions, which call to mind both Spirit Level in their heyday and (occasionally) McCoy Tyner’s immediately post-Coltrane output.

Goodall fires off cogent solos on both soprano and tenor, and his one-track contributions on flute and guitar are also telling, the latter in particular bringing the album to a rousing climax by perfectly complementing Jones’s feisty Hammond organ. Jones communicates most effectively in live performances, but this unpretentiously enjoyable album is the next best thing.