2012-02-18
With third release, Roads & Codes, The Ian Carey Quintet has added an alto sax (+1) for a fuller sound. Trumpeter, Ian Carey, leads the San Francisco quintet on its third release of mostly original compositions of contemporary instrumental jazz. The choice in covers here is interesting. They include Neil Young's theme from a 1995 Jim Jarmusch film, "Dead Man" and Igor Stravinsky's Suite No.1 for Small Orchestra , re-titled "Andante" for this disc. Two original songs stand out, however. The John Coltrane inspired "Count Up" is a nice bop piece, as well as "Nemuri Kyoshiro", which was inspired by samurai films. One can't review Roads & Codes, however, without mentioning the cover art. Besides being a trumpeter and composer, Ian Carey is an accomplished graphic artist and designer. Motivated by his love of graphic novels, he has designed the cover for Roads & Codes. Besides telling the story of this record, each musician and song sports its own illustration, upping the cool factor. Rebecca RuthThe opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.