Steve Hunter Band - Dig my Garden

"Before he spent a year living in Spain, Steve Hunter was already a devotee of flamenco, and alive to the possibilities of its cross-pollination with jazz. Its intrinsic drama plays to the strengths of Hunter's band, one of the country's most potent musical acts, and this studio album's very live sound captures that visceral excitement.

The Spanish-flavoured "Cazador" is simply the band's finest recording to date.

It begins with scintillating flamenco bass from Hunter over disquieting, distant organ from Matt McMahon, who switches to piano to share with Hunter a pensive theme that still sustains the suspense. When drummer James Hauptmann gatecrashes this reverie with a thumping groove, the stage is set for James Muller to unleash a guitar solo of such ferocity you will be ducking for cover; the sort of playing that makes his live performances so extraordinary, but which often have been somewhat pasteurised on disc. Not this time."

John Shand

Sydney Morning Herald.

"Sydney composer/electric bassist Steve Hunter has released seven previous albums as leader and seen more than 90 of his compositions recorded. His latest recording of eight varied originals is scaled down to quartet size with foremost sidemen: James Muller guitar; Matt McMahon keyboards, and drummer James Hauptmann.

Hunter spent most of 2004 living in Spain and several tracks reflect Spanish influences, especially Poema Del Bajo, (Bass Poem) a satisfying two minute bass solo using Catalan references with guitar-like chords and fluency. Styles range from the jazz rock fusion of Savvy with Muller’s wailing electric guitar, to the lyrical balladry of Three Rivers featuring melodic bass lines, flowing contemplative piano, and superbly tasteful acoustic guitar. Cazador begins with relaxed out-of-tempo bass figures for a couple of choruses, moving into a fast rhythmic pattern for the piano to groove above, concluding with Muller’s incredibly swift inventions leading into a chaotic roller coaster crescendo of guitar and drums."

John McBeath

Australian Review Rating: ****

More: Steve Hunter is a virtuoso bassist, prolific composer, and band leader. While living extensively overseas Hunter established an enviable international career playing with Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Ulf Wakenius, Jon Mark and Bobby Previte's ‘Bitches Brew Project’ and has appeared on around fifty albums. In Australia, Hunter has played and recorded with many of the countries greatest musicians and has won, or been a final nominee, for several major Australian music awards for compositions released on his and other artists’ albums. ‘Dig My Garden’ is Steve Hunter’s eighth album as leader. Much of the music was written over a ten month period spent living in Andalusia, Spain. Joining Hunter are James Muller (electric, acoustic guitar) and Matt McMahon (keys) both of whom have both been in Steve’s bands for the last eight years, and James Hauptman (drums, percussion, cajon) who has been in the band for the last three years. While Dig My Garden features 8 new Hunter compositions, the music is more than a group playing his music and following instructions. Steve strives for the music to reflect the composition and playing styles of the band, writing for and encouraging the input of the individual musicians to create something much more than the sum of its parts. "I like to write in all different kinds of ways; from very structured and notated through to sketches with virtually nothing on the music page. Consequently the music is carried on the strength of the ‘voices’ of the players rather than on a singular idiomatic compositional style." Steve All players make outstanding contributions to Steve's music with a particularly amazing guitar solo on Cazador from James Muller. To all this Hunter provides cohesion, his warm, full and authoritative bass providing a clear voice of direction, giving foundation and grounding for the adventurous music that has grown from the roots and influences of Miles Davis, Weather Report and Chick Corea. Hunter’s bass solo improvisations are famous and always an anticipated joy. 'Poema del Bajo' is no exception. "The solo bass piece ‘Poema del Bajo’ is one of twenty solo bass pieces and my favourite one to play at the time of recording ‘Dig My Garden’, so I thought I’d record it as a little interlude along with the band pieces." "My albums as leader have all been quite different to each other: ranging from quartets and septets, to my nine piece horn band ‘Nine Lives’, to an album of vocal songs featuring several different singers, to purely solo bass on my 1994 album ‘Night People’." "I’ve always had an idea for an album’s title in the past, but months went by before I came up with ‘Dig My Garden’. I hang out in my garden a lot; I sometimes compose and practice my bass there and talk on the telephone while I enjoy checking out my passion fruit vines and lime tree and the rainbow lorikeets and blue headed wrens. The title could have several connotations but primarily I see it as a simple invitation." In keeping with the "Spanish" feel, "Dig my Garden" was mastered in Argentina by acclaimed mastering engineer Andres Mayo.