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Ben Shepherd: Double Play

Ben Shepherd is a young bassist and bandleader who has assembled a group of like minded players to perform his original compositions of mainly instrumental jazz/rock. As well as Shepherd on upright and electric bass the band features Matt Mulholland on trumpet, Andrew Bruce on synth and piano and drummer Chris Silvester, and the skill with which each performs belies their youth and short musical lives (they're all under 20). Shepherd's compositional skills also show maturity and his tunes allow each musician to stretch out and showcase their soloing skills while also working well together as an ensemble. Sound wise the album mines a jazz/rock vein with shades of funk but with muted trumpet and Rhodes piano to the fore things often end up in 70's era TV theme territory which is a shame as it's on the straighter jazz compositions such as the title track that the band really shine. Echoes of The Crusaders and to an extent Weather Report abound and while Shepherd does not quite the achieve the slickness of these acts their smooth sound that marks him and his band as part of the new breed of jazz players in this country.

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