Gallowstreet: 'A Trip Worth making'

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The extraordinary new album from Amsterdam-based Gallowstreet is truly intense. As a bari sax player and a listener who is always drawn to the richness of big bands and brass bands, A Trip Worth Making delivers in spades. 



One of the best things about having a global audience for my writing and my podcast (Harmonious World, if you've missed it!) is discovering new artists that I might otherwise have missed. This Gallowstreet CD has been sitting on my shelf awaiting review and I'm only disappointed that I've waited so long to give it a listen.


There's something about Gallowstreet's combination of brass, hip hop beats and electronics that crosses all genres but sits firmly within contemporary jazz for its inventive combination of writing, arrangements and improvisation.


There's a bari sax player (Dirk Zandvliet) who doubles on flute, as well as tenor sax, three trombones and two trumpet/flugelhorn players, but at the heart of the sound of A Trip Worth Making is drummers and Peter Keijsers' sousaphone (and maybe that's where the particular European nature of this sound comes from).


From the opening chords of Assemble right through to the quasi-brass band On Borrowed Time, every track is worth a listen and it will almost certainly getting you itching to dance: the energy of Gallowstreet is infectious. Don't waste any more time - check it out.

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