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Can everything in our mind be explained by the mere arrangement of atoms in the brain? Awakening to the power of their own collective will Jeff Oster, Vin Downes and Tom Eaton collaborate to learn the secrets of the concerted self. Their Seven Conversations (46:56) conveys seven sublime messages in sound. Both casual and alert this album wanders a ways in fog. Drawing dramatic energy from vague, dark shadows, the narrative arrives in a simmering slow boil of Oster's blue Flugelhorn notes, Downe's shimmering guitar solos and broken chords, alongside Eaton's electronic keyboard currents and key bedrock basslines. An exercise in unhurried bliss Seven Conversations swirls with confirming energy. As reverberant harmonies subside in somnolent haze, concordant melodies rise in confident measures of breath. Where these intriguing moods offer repose and contemplation, amidst lightness and hope Oster, Downes & Eaton explore the more refined and elegant timbres of their instruments. In a rare tonal dreamstate their sonic designs are in constant motion - with each musician intently listening and responding rightly to the other two. Both deeply felt and elegantly played, for all its musicianship and competence Seven Conversations' finest feature may actually be its continual invention of Ambient atmospheres and textures - which provide a constantly renewed musical interest throughout its run. Seeking, striving, in it with all their heart, this work does not feel like anything else. The trio is telling their story as only they can - in an expression that comes to life only when it is shared.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 26 September 2024 |
