NITTY GRITTY
(Mixed-Up Music)
7.5/10
Tim Rollinson has rare control over the aesthetics of his guitar sound. When he applies distortion it doesn’t so much dirty up the sound as give it an edge and make it glint. When the sound is cleaner it’s never antiseptic, but has a warmth and fullness to draw you into to his svelte lines. The material, all by Rollinson, is funk-based, and while it veers close to smooth jazz on occasion it never actually tips over that line. It’s a matter of vibrancy, a quality that Rollinson’s playing always has, even if it is sometimes quite understated.
Helping the cause are three equally groove-conscious and sonic-conscious musicians in Shannon Stitt (Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond and synthesizers), Alexander Hewetson (bass) and Nic Cecire (drums). The latter’s control of dynamics and drama plays a huge part in making the music effervesce (and the drums have been superbly recorded), while Stitt contributes sprightly solos of his own, and Hewetson does his typically astute job of anchoring the music with the minimum of ornamentation. The tunes are mostly kept quite short, so the solos are pithy and the ideas never outstay their welcome.