reviews

20.12.2007 / The Wire ( UK)
Lucas Niggli ZOOM meets ARTE Quartet /CRASH CRUISE
Needle Sharp and Dead Centre

German trombonist Nils Wogram is the star here, opening the album in a relentlessly swinging duo with drummer Niggli that the reels in guitarist Philipp Schaufelberger and the four saxophonists. The compositions and arrangments are needle sharp and effortlessly executed, and the soprano parts are played at speed and absolutly dead centre. It isn´t just about glib musicianship though: " Coalition Collision" and "One for Evan" are unmistakably warm, while "Luft" achieves a curiously moving transcendence right at the close.

Brian Morton