Lyn's Une - Alyn Cosker - The Scotsman

The title of drummer Alyn Cosker's debut album as a leader derives from a mistake on a computer print-out of what would otherwise have been Alyn's Tune. All but one of the dozen selections, singer Maureen McMullan's concluding soul ballad When Autumn Comes, are his own. His current high-power trio with guitarist David Dunsmuir and bass guitarist Ross Hamilton is at the heart of the instrumentation, both in trio format and augmented in various combinations by characteristically inventive contributions from saxophonists Tommy Smith and Paul Towndrow, trumpeter Ryan Quigley and pianist Jason Rebello (the full ensemble is heard only once - but to glorious effect on Twitter and Bisted). As well as signalling his developing talents as a composer, the disc is primarily a vibrant showcase for the funk and groove elements of Cosker's playing. His overall command of a wide range of idioms and his mastery of the complexities of asymmetric metres and cross-rhythms energises the music in compelling fashion.