John Temmerman’s Jazz Obsession Quartet – The Power of Two

This CD was surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because (1) I never heard of any of these guys, (2) it’s 2 years old and (3) the cover is sort of…, well…, cheesey. Never judge a book by it’s cover however, the music inside is much better. They start out ambitiously by tackling Miles Davis’ All Blues, and they handle it with with passion and flair. Then they jump right into a groovin’ Costa Del Sol, followed by the title track, one of six original Temmerman compositions on the CD. Plan B, another original, is moodily smooth and plays well with the ever-present reverb on Temmerman’s sax, which is not as compatible with some of the other tracks. At times I think the verb on John’s sax is taking away from the actual performance with the overtones, making it hard to hear the sax clearly. Hopefully this is used for effect and not as a crutch, but it’s hard to say because it’s used throughout the CD. But on the whole the originals are fresh and interesting and show Temmerman’s compositional capabilities. The cover tunes are all well performed showing the prowess and abilities of the quartet, but I’d like to hear the leader of the group a little more cleanly. Give these guys a big budget and some major studio backing (with a major lable art department) and they’ll do well in the industry.