As the instrumentation will suggest, The Teak Project is an Indo-jazz project. The trio comes with credentials and pedigree. Mayer is the younger son of composer-violinist John Mayer and violinist Gillian Mayer and he played sitar in the reborn Indo-Jazz Fusions in the 1990s. Quinn’s name is linked to Bakehouse and the F-IRE Collective, Craig’s to the Christian Garrick Quartet and Deva. The compositional load is spread evenly across the trio and they are compositions with plenty of strong ideas and filigree touches.

Positioning a guitar and tabla lehara in Quinn’s ‘Without a Doubt’ is a good example of the latter – “lehara” being an accompaniment inversion in Hindustani music in which the melody instrument plays melodic figures supporting the rhythmist. ‘Leaky’, jointly credited to Quinn and Mayer, Mayer’s concluding ‘Slow Down’ and Craig’s cutely titled ‘Yamanish’ are my favourite performances and springboard compositions. An outstanding debut.
Ken Hunt

This review is from Jazzwise Issue #117 to read the full review section and receive a Free CD Subscribe Here...