ALYN COSKER

ONTA

Calligram Records

Alyn Cosker, drums/percussion/additional vocals/loops/additional piano; Ewen Vernal & James Lindsay, bass; Tom Gibbs, Fender Rhodes; Dan Brown, effects wizard/piano; Davie Dunsmuir, guitar; Karen Matheson & Rachel Lightbody, vocals; Chad McCullough, trumpet; Matthew Kilner & Leon Thorne, tenor saxophones; Juliette Lemoine, cello; Paul Towndrow, chromatic whistle/koncovka/alto saxophone/flutes; Miro Herak, vibraphone; Jenna Reid-Sandilands, fiddle; Jim Cosker, keyboard.

Drummer, Alyn Cosker, has long been one of the most in-demand jazz musicians on the Scottish jazz scene.  You will hear his love for his Scottish culture in his musical melodies and rhythmic concepts. According to the Google translation, the album title of “Onta” means camel.   This song opens the album with vocalist Karen Matheson floating her lyrical message atop Cosker’s rhythm section, driven by his  steady drum beat. The tune is quite hypnotic, with an ethereal feeling. On Track 2, “Lullapalew” is introduced by the flute of Paul Towndrow. His drums kick a funk beat into action.  Towndrow also offers a hauntingly beautiful chromatic Scottish whistle solo. When Cosker enters, the arrangement takes off with pumping horns, and the Towndrow’s whistle singing beautifully above the groove.

This is Cosker’s third album release and it’s recorded with several good friends.  The group is international, with one bassist from the Netherlands, Chad McCullough on trumpet from the States, and Karen Matheson is a Celtic artist.  The United States ‘Weather Report’ group made a solid impression on drummer Alyn Cosker.  He incorporates fusion, rock and smooth jazz into his various arrangements.  I found Cosker to be brilliantly creative.

Matthew Kilner brings his tenor saxophone to interpret the tune called “And You.”  This begins as a ballad, quite lovely, with Alyn Cosker adding additional piano to the track. Cosker also employes loops in the arrangement and adds Tom Gibbs on Fender Rhodes.  There are male voices that sing in a chanting style.  They enter late in the recording.  Unfortunately, because of the mix, I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  The words were muffled behind a piano one-note, that repetitiously played loudly over and over again in the track. I don’t know why they muffled the voices in the mix. However, Tom Gibbs offers a stellar Fender Rhodes solo with Cosker’s drums playing double-time beneath him. He changes the mood and tempo.

“Cassillis” is another pretty song with a beautiful melody, featuring the bass of Ewen Vernal strongly supporting this tune and the rhythm section.  Juliette Lemoine is featured on cello. Together, they weave the Scottish culture into the arrangement like silver threads. Midway through, the tempo picks up the pace, creating an unusual blend of Scottish music with driving drums and a pumping electric bass.

This is followed by an energetic tune Called “Downtown AYR.”  Cosker opens the tune with rolling drums and once again, the arrangement clearly replicates the sound of bagpipes.  They add Jenna Reid-Sandilands on fiddle and harmonic voices featuring the sweet soprano of Rachel Lightbody.

This is a unique project, recorded remotely in Scotland, the Netherlands and the United States. It brings a fresh face to jazz and showcases Alyn Cosker’s awesome talents on drums, while sweeping me off my seat like a magic carpet ride to other continents, countries and cultures.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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