Climbing Tree Tree Music (Ki No Uta)

CLIMBING TREE Tree Music (Ki No Uta)

http://www.myspace.com/climbingtree

Alexander Hewetson - Double bass
Phillip Slater - Trumpet
Mathew McMahon - Piano
Simon Barker – Drums

Ross Wilson
Ten Thousand Leaves
Minyon Falls
Athelstan
Roots
Walking With Giants
Salvatore
Thulu (Tree)
Bicinium

This is an inspired atmospheric song cycle played with fine sensitivity by four of the top musicians living in Australia. Although the CD is titled Tree Music it also creates lot of watery images, as if a river is swirling around the tree roots sprouting from a river bank. It is music to get lost in, to let your imagination take you on a voyage. Overall it recalls the kind of music which Miles Davis was playing when he was the trumpeter Billy Cross in the film Dingo. It is music that drifts through the ether carried by the wind. Throughout there is a great wash of instruments especially the double bass which reverberates with enormous subtlety. This soundscape was written in a very inspired period of two days by Alex Hewetson and recorded in one, but has the stamp of longevity on it. There is nothing in here that the ears would ever tire of hearing.


The first tune has a lilting rhythm to it, drum and double bass starting slowly, and then trumpet and piano, like familiar members of the family, seep into our consciousness. This tune is named after one of the icons of Australian music, Ross Wilson, who fronted Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, the latter band being the main inspiration for this music.

Bass and percussion quietly circle each other and glide through Ten Thousand Leaves. The next song is among my favourites and begins with the impression of footprints on mulched leaves, the piano and shuffling percussion leading us to the Minyon Falls in Nightcap Park on the North Coast of New South Wales. The forest is alive with a constant conversation between the instruments, weaving effortlessly in and around each other like sprites darting from tree to tree, recalling some of the nimbler moments of John Sangster’s Lord Of The Rings masterpiece. Throughout this song and the whole album the musicians play with a seamless subtlety and dexterity.

With a slow march we are introduced to Athelstan, named after the first King of England and one of its mightiest warriors. This is a soldier king in contemplation, readying for battle. When the swords hit the shields it is as if they are in slow motion.

At the beginning of Roots, the drumming digs into the earth. All of this music is about exploration in time and space, a primordial quest through the forests. The giants tread lightly and slowly in Walking With Giants, courtesy of Alex Hewetson’s walking bass.

The last three songs are a coda for this song cycle, bringing it all to a peaceful resolution. There is a delicate beauty in Salvatore which evokes the young boy of the film of the same name. Slater plays his trumpet seductively here and ends with a joyful fade-out. There is peace in Thulu (Tree), the notes of the piano having the softness and imagery of Satie, almost as if this tree is the nest, the tree-house to return to after wandering. This is a tree where every kid would like to live. The piano continues this peaceful rumination in Bicinium, firstly accompanying itself then joined by Alex bowing his double bass with the softest of touches, sounding like the faint buzz of a rather large bee.

This is definitely a CD that should be listened to in one go, especially at the end of a long day. Sit back and visit the places where the music takes you and by the end of it you will be carefree and completely relaxed. It is a very fine chill-out music played with intelligence.

© Roger Smith 10th April 2007