Fiona Pears: Las Sayas
By Nick Batt
"Spanish Latin Gypsy Jazz Fusion" is how violinist Fiona Pears describes the music style of her debut album. That's about as accurate a description as you could hope for, although personally 'fantastic' is equally accurate. A firm favourite at the last two Nelson Jazz Festivals, Pears has crafted an outstanding collection of original and covered acoustic jazz instrumentals. To complement her beautifully fluid style of playing she has enlisted the help of some equally talented musicians; Misha Marks (guitar), Simon Lusby (guitar), Sum Suraweera (drums) and Mike Kime (upright bass), with long time colleague Keith Petch also making an appearance. Recorded at Avalanche by Rob Mayes with production shared by Mayes and Pears. My only concern is that occasionally the violin threatens to overpower the other instruments, but then this is a violinist solo album and as good an example of violin playing that you are likely to hear.
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