Wexford drummer Kevin Lawlor’s second album sounds like a “masterpiece” in the original sense of the word: a test piece into which the craftsman has poured all the skills and techniques he has acquired during his training.
So rather than a coherent artistic statement, Eight is a rattlebag of different styles: Payne in the Back is a classic hard-bop swinger with an old-school solo from Glasgow saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski; In Between is a Motown-ish groover with some funky electric piano from Welsh keyboardist Dave Jones; and, unusually, Jazz Widow Blues is a melody played on the drums.
There are interesting moments, particularly from Wiszniewski, and some accomplished drumming from the leader but overall, the impression is of a musician still searching for his own voice.
