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Dr Tree: Dr Tree (Re-release)

Ahh, the days of roto-toms, blistering fast tempos, slow tempos filled with demisemiquavers, busy bass lines and bass drums, effects-laden guitar, long solos, chattering snare drums, odd time signatures, additional percussion, and relentless, restless playing, all in search of ‘something beyond’. For musicians already steeped in the best that bop and post-bop could offer, Mahavishnu/Weather Report/Return to Forever-inspired jazz-rock fusion was the next challenge - which Dr. Tree rose to superbly on this 1976 award-winning album. When they recorded this pioneering work, drummer Frank Gibson Jr., keyboardist Murray McNabb, bassist Bob Jackson, trumpeter Kim Patterson, guitarist Martin Winch and percussionist John Banks were among the very few local jazz musicians who could play this music convincingly and passionately. Among the best sounds are the tantalizingly brief space-age opener The Twilight Zone, the slinky jazz-funk of Patterson’s Eugino D, and McNabb’s ostinato-based Affirmation; but in fact the entire album maintains an exceptionally high ensemble and solo standard. Completing a trilogy of important re-releases helmed by Gibson, with affectionate but informative liner notes added by Graham Reid, this is a unique, essential item in any serious Kiwi jazz collection.

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