Neil Swainson - Fire in the West (2022) [Hi-Res]

A long-time fan of the front-line pairings of the 1950s bands of Miles Davis, Art Blakey and Horace Silver (for whom Silver Mine is dedicated), Swainson shaped both his compositions and the blue-chip rhythm section of pianist Renee Rosnes (with whom he'd worked in the 1990s cross border band Free Trade) and Lewis Nash around this stylistic post-bop conception. With compositional dedications to musical influences (the aforementioned Silver Mine), to impactful places (Kyushu, a musical reflection of time spent on this Japanese island), to people (Fell Among Thieves references a biblical parable that Swainson relates to some wonderful people he has known who fell into difficult company and circumstance), this new recording offers a personal glimpse inside Swainson's musical and compositional mind.

Neil Swainson – bass
Renee Rosnes – piano
Lewis Nash – drums
Brad Turner – trumpet
Kelly Jefferson – tenor saxophone