All Ears is the third album of Hobart based guitarist, Jamie Pregnell, released in May 2024 where he leads the same line up as his second album, Sleepy Town. Pregnell is joined by Melbourne-based musicians, saxophonist Julien Wilson, double–bassist Sam Anning and Perth-based drummer Ben Vanderwal. All tracks are composed by Jamie Pregnell.
This ensemble is well recorded and mastered and, apart from the electric guitar, is an acoustic ensemble with no drum machines or electronic sampling. Pegnell has explained that he used his standard archtop in this recording but the acoustic elements of the archtop aren’t as obvious as they might be live. Pregnell has spent a long period of time under the mentorship of James Muller and while their guitar tone share some similarities, Pregnell maintains his own playing style that is tastefully laid back and contemplative. Pregnell’s tonally detailed guitar timbre is more similar to John Schofield than Pat Martino and his solo lines have a natural direction that resolve tastefully while not too predictable. Julien Wilson’s sax playing has a significant presence on this album and his experience as a leading instrumentalist in this field is obvious. Wilson has a clean and modern sound, not too much vibrato or note bending and his virtuosity on the instrument is on display but not over-done. The skills of Sam Anning and Ben Vanderwal both as instrumentalists and as highly experienced ensemble members is also tastefully on display. Everyone gets their chance to shine and shine they do.
The opening track, Travller, has a positive feel helped along by a driving but light drum rhythm that is ever present but never overbearing. Saxophone is a strong feature and Pregnell makes good use of both monophonic and polyphonic textures between the saxophone and guitar. Pregnell’s mixture of comping and melodic lines on electric guitar is warm, there is a nice balance of motif and virtuosity and the ensemble is relaxed but tight. All Ears is a continuation of the same relaxed feel with the tempo dialled back slightly. The Channel is a contrast in style combining a twangy country feel of pedal steel guitar played by Lucky Oceans with prominent jazz lines on the double bass. While still present, the saxophone takes a backseat on this number. While I said there was no drum machines or electronica, some mixing magic has been used to great effect in Lifetime. Nine Lives is a stand-out favourite for me with a light addictive drum beat throughout and it is understandable that that Nine Lives gets a play at all of Pregnell’s gigs. The Heaviness and the Light may be the weakest link of this album and a bit on edge but overall this album is a great piece of work by Pregnell and his group of Australian jazz masters. This isn’t an album that pushes the boundaries of the genre but it is also not standard repertoire you’ve heard before. Jamie Pregnell has again brought together a team who work seamlessly together and Pregnell’s compositions strike a nice balance of interest, complexity and harmonic congruity. This is no one-track pony (excuse the pun) and this album is likely to remain in my active play list for quite some time.
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