Artist: Dan Wilson Mark Huggett Project Album: Max Roach Park (2007) Label: Jazz Direct Records Website: http://www.myspace.com/danwilsonmarkhuggettproject Reviewer: Paulo André

Track List: 01. Vuleka 02. Mr M.D. 03. Zuni 04. Fireweed 05. Mello 06. William Blake 07. The Forty Niner 08. Bells 09. Chesil 10. No Mans Land 11. Kenyon 12. Tau Ceti 13. A Greener Room 14. Pray Max Roach died in 2007 but left behind a legacy that few other drummers can boast about. His career spanned seven decades and he was the proverbial pioneer of jazz, launching numerous new movements within modern music like bebop, hard bop, acid jazz... well, you name it. Working with jazz greats such as trumpeters Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, he managed to always be in the forefront of jazz music and those have who have seen him live testify to how touched and honored they felt. Back up a few years before Roach left us and here we have Dan Wilson and Mark Huggett, whose music prowess has landed them various gigs in the past as the rhythm section for artists like Mike Cooper, The Waterboys, Annette Peacock and others. Despite being geographically apart as of late - Dan Wilson moved back to South Africa while drummer Mark Huggett remains in London, UK - they kept on working together. Gotta love them MP3s and all kinds of digital tools. Where Max Roach and these two guys apparently intersect is in this CD we are talking about right now, interestingly named "Max Roach Park". Perhaps Roach has been an influence of Huggett specifically, being a drummer and all, but the truth is I didn't find any particular connection while I did a little research for this review. Ominously, Roach died shortly after this CD was produced so some kind of posthumous tribute is probably out of the question. Then again, this may simply refer to the real Max Roach Park in Brixton, South England, and that's that. Or it just doesn't matter. Musically, what we have here is a CD filled to the brim with jazzy chill-out tunes that sometimes verge dangerously close to muzak but can get quite complex under the surface. I find the album works best as background music as it is soothing yet varied enough with all the little trumpet, sax and percussion bits. Mark Huggett is tasteful on the drums, never really coming to the forefront, everything being about touch. There's a feeling of world music floating around as well, especially where ethnic percussion comes about, but it's never overwhelming. There are however two different sides to this "Max Roach Park" album. The first half is much more upbeat while the second half is entirely subdued, more like a jam in nature, culminating in the 9 and a half minute sort of mellow epic, "Pray". From this point of view, this could have easily been two different albums even if it all sounds very even. The production is excellent as well, every instrument - and sometimes there's a lot going on - crisp and clear in the mix, especially the drums. Mark Huggett is not just a very good drummer, he also seems to be a great producer and engineer. I'm usually not a fan of 80 minute discs crammed to capacity, but in this case it just isn't a problem. This is not music you pay close attention to. This is music you can feel and soak in as you're doing something else and you know what? You may feel much more relaxed when this CD stops spinning eighty minutes after it started. Band: Dan Wilson - Basses, Keyboards Mark Huggett - Drums Additional Musicians: James Tartaglia - Tenor Saxophone on tracks 1,2,4,5,6,8,12 Silas Wood - Guitar on tracks 1,6,9 Dave Warren - Jazz Guitar on tracks 2,6,7,8,12 Yngvil Vatn Guttu - Trumpet on tracks 2,5,9,10,12,14 Gina Selby - Vocalisations on track 2 Teresa Walsh - Flute on tracks 5,8