MIKE OSBORNE — Shapes (review)

MIKE OSBORNE — Shapes album cover Album · 1995 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
From the London-jazz scene, I think that saxman Mike Osborne was always one of the more “advanced” (read extremist), even if this dimension varied according to the project he was appearing in. But his “solo” or band-leader albums should be approached with some care by most jazz enthusiasts and Shapes is no exception to that rule. The personnel listed on the sleeve shouldn’t be giving you much doubt as to the free or experimental formula used here: Skidmore, Surman (three saxmen), Miller (contrabassist), Freeman (also bass) and the relatively unknown (to me anyway) Moholo on drums. You’d almost expect Elton Dean and Keith Tippett to pop by around, to get a complete picture.

While the CD reissue liner notes mention the rather-extreme label Ogun, I’ve not found on it evidence that it was indeed an Ogun product, but it just sounds like more than a possibility. The 19-mins+ two-part title track is indeed often going overboard in the dissonant area and to be honest, it sometimes gets a bit too screechy for my tastes, and I’m not mentioning the “rhythm” section, which often doesn’t rhythm at all. The two tracks on the flipside don’t show a better aptitude at finding melodies and don’t seem to care to, either. OK, I’ve heard more atonal an album, but let’s face it, even I who like modern challenging music finds that these Shapes are a little too obtuse for my feeble brains. Not exactly my kind of album, but if you’re into the later-Tippett crowd, this should be up your alley…. but I think I’ll move across town.

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