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Eales: The Dancing Flute / Andy Findon, Geoff Eales

Eales / Findon,Andy
Release Date: 09/10/2013 
Label:  Nimbus   Catalog #: 6216   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales,  Andy Findon
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 4 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Though he’s an outstanding Jazz pianist, Geoff Eales studied composition under Alun Hoddinott and he also pursued piano lessons with Martin Jones. He has a Symphony to his name and what does that sound like, one wonders. Not unsurprisingly there’s also a piano concerto; dare one hope for an Eales recording of that? He has also carved smaller joints and this selection of thirteen pieces shows the lighter, more compact side of his compositional nature. The works are for flute and piano and celebrate the joys of the dance.
 
The flautist is the exceptional Andy Findon who wields, as well, the penny whistle and piccolo. Eternal Dance is a catchy opener with Eales providing super-abundant and articulate jazz licks. Read more Song for my Mother plays on the Horace Silver title and generates a different ambience altogether – warm lyricism. Eales has already recorded this on a solo album but it works well for flute and piano. Virtuosity is to the fore in In the Pocket, with its tripartite ABA structure and characteristically elegant soloing from Eales. Wistful nostalgia is present in Remembrance – his titles are always apropos, and the strength of his lyrical inspiration is never in doubt.
 
Elf Dance, another song he has previously recorded, is a flighty swinger with a degree of Roots vibrancy to keep it grounded and there’s an especially nice, lonesome B section where the flute soliloquises sensitively. There’s a mid-tempo lope to Lochria’s Rhumba and for In the Eyes of a Child Findon wields a penny whistle to impart Gaelic lyric hues. Faster and more international variety is provided by the Tango implicit in Farewell Patagonia whilst Eales’ inspiration in The Sad Little Geisha Girl is from a book, and is openly rhapsodic. It’s also the most extensive of these pieces and perhaps hints at Eales the tone poet. Lest one suspect all is clement in this recital, there’s an allegro onrush in Force 11, a gale of a piece, not least when Findon is on the piccolo, taking things windy and high. Ice Maiden is played on the bass flute – a mysterious opus. Even the central section of Pan Dance can’t efface Eales’ essentially lyrical gift.
 
The disc is excellently recorded, succinctly annotated and expands still further Eales’ discography. Roll on the Symphony.
 
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International Read less

Works on This Recording

1.
Eternal Dance, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (), Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (Flute),
Andy Findon ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 4 Minutes 24 Secs. 
2.
Song for My Mother, for flute, horn & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (Flute), Geoff Eales (),
Andy Findon ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 4 Minutes 17 Secs. 
3.
In The Pocket, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (), Andy Findon (Flute), Geoff Eales (Piano),
Andy Findon ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 4 Minutes 27 Secs. 
4.
Remembrance, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (), Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (Flute),
Andy Findon ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 5 Minutes 45 Secs. 
5.
ELF Dance, for flute, horn & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (Flute), Geoff Eales (), Andy Findon (),
Geoff Eales (Piano)
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 6 Minutes 56 Secs. 
6.
Lochria's Rhumba, for alto flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (), Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 3 Minutes 49 Secs. 
7.
In The Eyes Of A Child, for penny whistle & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (), Geoff Eales (Piano), Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 3 Minutes 47 Secs. 
8.
Farewell Patagonia, for flute, horn & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (), Andy Findon (Flute), Geoff Eales (Piano),
Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 3 Minutes 35 Secs. 
9.
The Sad Little Geisha Girl, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (), Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (Flute),
Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 8 Minutes 39 Secs. 
10.
Force 11, for piccolo & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Geoff Eales (Piano), Andy Findon (Piccolo), Andy Findon (),
Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 2 Minutes 20 Secs. 
11.
Ice Maiden, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (), Geoff Eales (Piano), Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 5 Minutes 39 Secs. 
12.
Pan Dance, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (), Andy Findon (Flute), Geoff Eales (Piano),
Geoff Eales ()
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 4 Minutes 25 Secs. 
13.
The Last Kiss, for flute & piano by Geoff Eales
Performer:  Andy Findon (Flute), Andy Findon (), Geoff Eales (),
Geoff Eales (Piano)
Period: Contemporary 
 Length: 5 Minutes 40 Secs. 

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