Neil Cowley Trio Touch And Flee (Brown)

Touch and Flee from Neil Cowley Trio, marked a defining moment in the evolution of the band, spotlighting the ever- increasing brilliance of Cowley as a composer. With long time band mates Evan Jenkins on drums and Rex Horan on bass, they jumped headlong into new territory to present what they described as "our concert hall record" for an altogether deeper listening journey.
Gone were the familiar hook laden tunes, repeating riffs and pounding crescendos, replaced, in the main, by shifting, expansive melodies, longer elegant passages, and a broader brush stroke on Cowley's blank canvas.
What was familiar though was Cowley's power to move through music. Exquisitely graceful movements met with dark haunting passages. And although this was a new direction for Neil Cowley Trio, their personality, and unmistakable sound, still shone through. We hear, for example in the epic, sweeping, Kneel Down a three movement piece containing pulse, power, climax, spaciousness, and then, gentle surprise. The wonky jazz of Winterlude keeps the head nodding while Cowley's proclivity for atmospheric film scores remains.
Touch and Flee was recorded at the legendary RAK studios with Grammy nominated Dom Monks in the producer's chair.
Touch and Flee is the result of three gifted musicians who think as one, growing together, driving forward. A collection of tunes best savoured in a darkened room, at full volume. They demand attention, but as always, deliver to the listener the most blissful of rides.
Released June 9, 2014