Kit Downes – Vermillion

I have a nearly perfect copy, silent and clean. Flat and well centered, too. Sounds great!

First of all: musically, this album is brilliant. Fluid, cerebral compositions and improvisations and interplay, showing one direction that the piano trio is headed as we move into the 21st century. The musicians play and breathe as one. Bravi, tutti.

The pressing is very good, but not perfect. There is a small amount of ticks and pops and inner groove distortion present. Gave it one pass with l’ADS fluid and vac, definitely more noise on side two. It’s not the worst, but enough to hear. Also a *bit* of inner-groove distortion in the piano treble transients.

I’m not convinced that there’s not a good bit of mould release compound on it from the factory that could be causing some of this—my fluid would not stop beading as I applied it, when typically it spreads evenly. I’ll give it another deep clean and adjust my review if something changes.

Absolutely brilliant music and beautiful recording, engineering and mastering, presented via a very good—but as of now, not perfect—pressing. This is my first modern ECM pressing, and I guess I was just hoping the sonics to be those of the ECM pressings of yore.

Music is mellow and pretty good. My copy could be better - lots of soft pops even after ultrasonic cleaning and anti-static treatment

Kit Downes features on two current releases both of which are excellent in contrasting ways. On Deadeye, the eponymous debut of his jazz-rock trio, he plays Hammond organ and much of the music, while certainly not without its quiet and lyrical moments, is frenetically busy and vigorous.

Vermillion, on the other hand, is piano trio chamber jazz of a kind I particularly associate with ECM. Downes (piano) is joined by Peter Eldh (double bass) and James Maddren (drums). Immaculately produced by Manfred Eicher Vermillion establishes a definite mood from the very first track and then explores it over the remaining forty minutes or so. This music is melodic, gentle, intricate, subtle and atmospheric. The compositional credits are divided equally between Downes and Eldh and the album rounds off with an interpretation of the Jimi Hendrix song Castles Made of Sand.

An intimate and absorbing record with a sublimely organic feel to the playing and one which I will enjoy getting to know better over the coming months. The perfect music to lose yourself in on headphones late at night.