Greg Foat’s 9th album connects the past and future of British jazz
For Greg Foat’s ninth album, and first for the Athens of the North label, the London-based pianist collaborates with a multi-generational cast of brilliant British musicians on The Mage.
Known over the past decade for his work with his Greg Foat Group, this new recording features the British jazz pianist and composer teaming up with soundtrack and library music legends Duncan Lamont, Art Themen, Ray Russell, and Clark Tracey, as well as two of London’s most forward-thinking artists in drummer and producer Moses Boyd, and Heliocentric’s Malcolm Catto. The recording also notably includes special guest Trinidadian singer/songwriter Kathy Garcia on “Of My Hands,” a track that was original recorded by Garcia 45 years ago.
The remarkable seven-track recording nicely fuses together post-bop jazz melodies and freeform horn solos with downtempo folkscapes, atmospheric textures, and soulful cosmic tones. The music is beautifully moody and haunting, in what feels at times very cinematic or soundtrack-like.
Overall, this is Greg Foat’s most adventurous record to date, capturing a sense of British mysticism that is as wildly mesmerizing musically as the album’s cover art. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Greg Foat — ‘The Mage’
(Athens of the North)
1. Of My Handa
2. Endless Love
3. Drifting
4. The Magic Radish
5. The High Priestess
6. Incantation
7. The Mage
