Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Lots of style and a little schmaltz from Kiwi jazz man
On his seventh album Nathan Haines is a hardened jazz head, a seasoned rump shaker, and sometimes, a purveyor of fine elevator jazz.
Of course, elevator music of any style is nothing but wallpaper and on Desert Town, instead of conjuring up images of tumbleweeds and dust bowls, what we
get is sassy jazz akin to the theme music of 80s soap Knots Landing. And though first vocal track with nu-soul diva Vanessa Freeman is nice enough, there is nothing with quite the same style and strut of the title track to Haines's excellent 2003 release Squire For Hire. Nor is there anything quite as cool and understated as his cover of Steely Dan's FM also off that album.
Still, Haines shows his chops and is at his best on the thumping soul jazz funk of Chimera Blues, he puts his head down for some righteous and heavy playing on the almost dissonant and psychedelic Ruminiscing, and the tension-filled Dervish At the Door with the hiss of the cymbal and the flight of the saxophone a tantalising trip.
This journeyman has been a few places in a music career spanning 25 years - and it comes through in some of the more exotic sounds on the album. There's everything from the erhu (Chinese violin) on the intro, through to - and best of all - the bansuri flute and Tibetan bells on whimsical interlude Crane Of Good Omen.
A few tracks aside, this is another solid and classy album from Haines.
