
The New Fuse Box: Another 3 Days
By Peter Dent
Keyboardist Lindsay Wakem returns to lead another recording by his group Fuse Box (now credited as The New Fuse Box, due to a couple of personnel changes). The 10 tracks were all penned by Wakem, and feature a stellar cast of New Zealand's finest jazz musicians. The group includes: Phil Scorgie on bass, Chris Neilson on sax, Dean Kerr on guitar, Jason Orme on drums, and (of course) the leader on piano, Fender Rhodes and synths. The music is up-to-the-minute contemporary, intelligent, soulful, beautiful Jazz. Never one to hog the spotlight for long, Wakem often lets Neilson or Kerr step out front and shine. My favourite tune though, is the keyboard-prominent Used to B a Hammond, with its playful use of rhythm and melody. Through much of the remainder of the album, Wakem is happy to sit back and groove with Scorgie and Orme. You wouldn't necessarily guess these compositions were by a keyboardist! Engineer Nic Manders has done a wonderful job recording and mixing the album (at Auckland's Revolver Studios). New Zealand jazz is thriving!
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