Breathtaking The Chris Conway Band Chris Conway Piano, Keyboards, Vocal, Tin whistle, Electric 9-String Guitar, Bamboo Flute, Kalimba, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Andy Nicholls - Tenor Saxophone, Neil Segrott - Electric Bass/Electric Guitar, John Runcie - Drums/Percussion, Mary Browne - Voice
ZZCD 9811 You can order this CD in our E-Shop under Jazz Reviews **Sound Clips**

Let the wonderful music of Chris Conway, and his group, take your breath away.

DDD Total Time = 68.06

1. Carmen Miranda (Chris Conway)
We start off with a fun, summery latin samba tune, which features a solo by Chris on a seldom-heard jazz instrument - the Irish tin whistle! Chris says he admires performers who give 200%, and the piece is dedicated to the legendary Carmen Miranda who certainly was such a performer.

2. You'll Never Know (Chris Conway)
This starts as a ballad to feature the wonderful rich bass playing of Neil Segrott. The piece then changes gear to a waltz-time theme and a quicksilver piano solo, before the ballad melody returns again over the new rhythm.

3. If Only (Andy Nicholls)
Tenor sax player Andy Nicholls is also an excellent composer of jazz compositions, as this breezy number demonstrates. It features some fine sax playing, and a remarkable scat vocal solo from Chris.

4. Breather I - I Care (Neil Segrott)
Chris asked each member of the group to improvise about 30 seconds of music, solo, to act as reveries for the listener to catch their breath. This gem is Neil's contribution.

5. Golden Steps (Chris Conway)
Chris Conway describes this piece as "jazz on a space station". It is also a feature for the stunning guitar playing of Neil Segrott.

6. Cry for The Mountains (Chris Conway)
A haunting theme in 6/8 time, which was originally a song with an environmental theme written for a folk tour of Germany Chris undertook in 1997. Andy's haunting sax is the focus of attention here, as is Chris's only guitar solo on the album.

7. Breather II - The Lonely Road (Andy Nicholls)
Andy's breather has an almost Middle Eastern feel, resolving in a great harmonic at the end.

8. The Long Winter (Chris Conway)
Turkish and Balkan Music inspired this composition in 5/4 time. The bell-like synthesizer, John's percussion, the bamboo flute solo and Chris making "swish" vocal noises at one point, all add to the wintry feel.

9. The End Of The World (Chris Conway)
This very moving ballad was originally, as Chris put it, a "post-apocalyptic love song". The tune was originally composed for a Bjørnar Bjørnson film of the same name. It is a theme that was simply made for saxophones to play.

10. Think Blue, Count Two (Chris Conway)
This piece demonstrates the wonderful interaction between piano, bass and drums, as the players shift the pace constantly as they weave their way round some big chord changes. Chris is something of a science-fiction fan -
the title comes from a short story by Cordwainer Smith.

11. Breather III - Count Me In (John Runcie)
John demonstrates some of the colours in his percussion palette for his breather.

12. Dodo (Chris Conway)
A classic jazz ballad. It's origin's are obscure. Chris is a very big fan of guitarist Terje Rypdal who wrote a tune "Ørnen" (Eagle) that inspired this tune. "Ørnen" was in turn inspired by Fleetwood Mac's classic "Albatross". Chris, feeling humble in such company, chose the humble "Dodo" as his offering to the tradition. Dodo is dedicated to Terje Rypdal.

13. Tone Poem (Charles Lloyd)
Chris learned this tune from memory after hearing a live recording by the great sax player Charles Lloyd. It then grew and changed on tour. Chris tracked down a copy of the recording again only to find the melody different from how he had remembered it. So Chris sends apologies to Charles Lloyd, but thanks him for providing a wonderful vehicle for the band.

14. Flying Home (Chris Conway)
The wonderful haunting voice of Mary Browne, (colleague in world music band The Rain Garden) adds the magic touch as the theme from "You'll Never Know" returns again briefly, rounding the album off beautifully.

15. Breather IV - Lights Out (Chris Conway)
Chris's glowing solo piano wishes the listener a final goodnight.