COMPOSERS: Eastwood
LABELS: Candid
WORKS: Asssorted
PERFORMER: Kyle Eastwood (bass), Graeme Flowers, Till Brönner (trumpet), Graeme Blevins (sax), Eric Legnini, Andrew McCormack (keyboards), Camille, Toyin (vocals), Franck Agulhon, Manu Katché (drums)
CATALOGUE NO: CCD 79856
Kyle Eastwood with his five-piece band is building an international live following: whether playing funky grooves on bass guitar or haunting arco on upright bass, he leads an accomplished set. This is his third Candid album, another collaboration with producer Michael Stevens, with whom he worked on the soundtrack of father Clint’s film Gran Torino.
Recording in Paris, Eastwood boosts his regulars with ubiquitous Euro jazz talent. Moving away from previous output, this album seems consumed by its soundtrack qualities: the title track wouldn’t be out of place in a US TV show about a dysfunctional neighbourhood.
But while ‘Hot Box’ displays Eastwood’s funk technique, ‘Le Balai’ could be the sleeper hit – its upbeat groove, recalling keyboardist Marc Moulin, celebrates the disc’s Francophone influences. Neil McKim