Chestnut-toned tenor saxist Gordon Hyland creates an album of varying sepia tones with a core team of Mackenzie Longpre/dr and Neil Whitford/eg and mixing and matching Mike Murley/ts, Andrew Roorda/eb, Vivienne Wilder/ab and Torrie Seager/eg through a collection of originals and covers. The two tenor team creates a declaratory speech on Ornette Coleman’s “Lorraine” while forming a casual conversation on “Baby Steps” and a sighing blow of cigarette smoke on a re-interpretation of “Unforgettable.”
Foreboding moods and dark shadows are created with guitar and sax on “Macrophages” and the shifting sands of “\\living fossill//” with Whitford creating a rich pulse for Hyland’s soft winds on “Never Die.” The rhythm team is supple with Longpre’s brushes on “Listen to the Quiet Voice” and shows how to rock as Hyland gets brash on “Satellite.” A musical Hound of the Baskervilles.