Lyn's Une - Alyn Cosker - The Guardian

Cosker is one of the most powerful young drummers on the vibrant Scottish jazz scene, handling everything from saxist Tommy Smith's Coltrane-to-Garbarek world to Buddy Rich tributes with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. The pieces here are all Cosker originals delivered by a very classy postbop band including Smith and fellow saxophonist Paul Towndrow, trumpeter Ryan Quigley and Jason Rebello, pianist for Sting and Jeff Beck. One of the most dominant voices is former rock guitarist David Dunsmuir, who complements Cosker's clear affection for John Scofield's music - both in its punchy, blues-voiced, funky manner, and in the kind of coolly jazzier dialogues the American has shared with Joe Lovano. That Scofield/Lovano atmosphere, caught by Dunsmuir and Smith against Cosker's freewheeling polyrhythms, provides some of the album's most memorable moments. There is also some carousing jazz-funk that sounds like Ray Charles riffs rearranged by Stan Tracey, and one outing for the sophisticated soul vocals of Maureen McMullen. The full display of Cosker's wide tastes and abilities slightly blurs the album's focus, but it's a testament to the world-class prowess of the participants.