‘Techni-colour Rain’ by ‘Cleon’s Three’
Rating: 4.5 out of 6
Brisbane-based keys/piano player Cleon Barraclough has ventured out into deep Latin/modern jazz territory on Techni-colour Rain, his second release as a leader. Right from the subtle assault of the first song, you know you’re in for a fun and challenging ride, and Cleon’s trio members, Osmar “Chiky” Salazar (Bass) and Sacha K (drums), bring these compositions to life with a mature rhythmic density to their playing that propels these songs along beautifully – six of the tunes being written by Cleon, and the other two penned by drummer Sacha K. As a rhythm section, Osmar and Sacha K drive this project with a measured sense of purpose that expressively explodes out at just the right time together with Cleon’s fiery, rhythmic approach, which lends itself to the Chick Corea/Michel Camilo style of melodic attack. In short, there’s plenty of digging in from everyone, lots of meaty playing and some great odd time forays. Techni-colour rain is a beautiful Australian release from a piano player that Australian jazz musicians and lovers of the genre alike are going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of….
Written by Trent Bryson-Dean (Drum Scene mag, edition #18, August 2015)
