Kevin Lawlor: Eight | Album review

Eight
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Artist: Kevin Lawlor
Genre: Jazz
Label: Self Released

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.

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Cormac Larkin

Cormac Larkin

Cormac Larkin, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a musician, writer and director