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Reviews - 'You Tunes'
You Tunes is an album that gives up its pleasures slowly. It doesn’t set out to turn heads, instead letting its laid back grooves draw you in.
The album’s standout track is ‘Lazy Circles’. Clocking in at ten minutes, it unwinds like a slow burning fuse, full of restrained urgency. Hamish Stuart lays down a steady rhythmic pulse, opening up ample space for Rollinson, whose playing is considered, thoughtful and cool throughout. Zwartz’s intricate bass lines are a highlight, the three players locking into a groove that feels timeless.
Rollinson’s playing throughout the album is under-stated. There’s nothing flashy going on here, no sudden squalls of notes, pedal effects or feedback. It’s clear the musicians are listening and responding to each other at every turn, nudging the music gently forward. There’s a cool veneer to this music, it’s full of defined edges and clean lines, like those found in a Frank Stella painting. At times – on tracks like ‘Blueprints’ or ‘White Lion Brow’ – the music conjures the late night moods of Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue, or the languid lines of Grant Green’s Idle Moments. At other times there’s a nod to guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield, especially on the penultimate track ‘Meniscus’, which calls to mind Scofield’s mid-period recordings with drummer Bill Stewart.
It’s only on the album’s final track, ‘After’, that the trio shrug off any last pretence at restraint, unleashing a searing and blistering improvisation, as if casually letting us know that they could play like this if they so desired.
You Tunes is an album that reinforces Rollinson’s place in the front ranks of local jazz guitarists, alongside Steve Magnussen, James Muller, Carl Dewhurst, Geoff Hughes, and Aaron Flower. Thirteen years is a long time between drinks; here’s hoping we don’t have to wait that long for Tim Rollinson’s next outing.
Des Cowley - Extempore, May 2011
'This is Tim Rollinson at his best. The DIG guitarist has stripped back the musical environment to minimalist bass and drums from long-term colleagues Jonathan Zwartz and Hamish Stuart, respectively. In this near-naked environment, the native understatement and pensiveness of his playing glow like candles in a darkened room, with sudden little flickers and flares of something brighter or more fierce. The highlight is the 10 minutes of the superbly titled Lazy Circles, with its supremely melodic drumming, suspenceful bass and guitar lines made to glisten all the more with an adroit edge of bite to the sound. Elsewhere, laid-back grooves and lyrical improvising are the super-cool norm.'
John Shand - Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 2010
'There are no rough edges to Rollinson‘s second outing as leader'
Roger Mitchell - Sunday Herald Sun, July 2010
"this is an engaging and satisfying set, from three tasteful, skilful
and like-minded musicians."
Adrian Jackson - Rhythms, May 2010
Tim Rollinson proves himself to be a thorough
modernist, taking bits and pieces from the styles of Bill Frisell, John
Scofield, Jerry Garcia, and a lot of others, then synthesizing them
into an expansive and easy-going approach that’s pretty much a
pleasure to listen to.
Stuart Kremsky - Cadence (USA)
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