C.L.BOB : DEBUT ALBUM

C.L.BOB bring forth on this self titled debut album release an exciting colourful energy from their live recorded performance at a Tokerahi homestead in North Otago. Capturing the essence of their being as a musical group this Wellington based quintet present a myriad of styles as each member contributes compositions to this CD, including an additional hidden track . . . try to find if you dare!!!

Elegant and diverse, prepare yourself to be taken on an hours musical adventure into the new world of C.L.BOB and its instrumental music. This widely travelled Wellington based quintet has performed through out New Zealand from Pahia to Stewart Island over the last few years and recently received rave reviews from the inaugural 1997 Wellington International Jazz Festival. First heard on TREES : YELLOW EYE JAZZ SAMPLER, where this acoustic based quintet delved into the odd time signature with a sound decidedly European on tracks such as THE JOURNEY, SMILES, and MY BASE CASE.

C.L.BOB are: Steve Cournane (Drums, Percussion), David Leahy (Double Bass, Trombone, Percussion), John Bell (Vibraphone, Trumpet, Percussion), Nils Olsen (Saxophones, Clarinet, Percussion), Simon Bowden (Guitar, Percussion).

C.L.BOB : REVIEWS

NEW ZEALAND MUSICIAN : Peter Dent

Named for the surnames of the groups members (Cournane, Bell, Leahy, Olsen and Bowden), C.L.BOB are an adventurous, improvisational jazz group based in Wellington. Featuring an exciting mixture of rhythm section, vibes, sax and guitar (plus other performances), the group's full length debut has an instant effect on the listener. Combining aggressive swing feels, polyrhythms, odd time, dynamics, consonances, dissonances, metric modulation - and anything else you can think of - each group member puts forth several satisfying compositions. Out on Dunedin's exciting Yellow Eye Music label, this recording is a superb aural representation of a C.L.BOB live show - as diverse and intense as any improvised jazz ever recorded in this country. Some of the instrumental performances are extraordinary : check out Steve Cournane's drumming on MYSTICAL PATHS, Simon Bowden's guitar textures or Nils Olsen's sax on TRANSITIONS, John Bell's beautiful vibraphone ostinato on SUMMER SONG or David Leahy's solo bass intro on JANE. Well worth tracking down.

CHRISTCHURCH STAR : March 1998 : Chris Mooar

Wellington jazz terrorists C.L.BOB (huh?) recently played in town and put a sedate late night bar on its ear. This is their debut album and it is superb. Imagine COLTRANE, WEATHER REPORT and THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET (circa 51-52 Savoy Recordings) rather heatedly discussing the swing potenetial of DOLPHY's OUT TO LUNCH, while sitting cramped in a box car heading to Dixie, and you kind of get the idea of C.L.BOB. That said, the glue that holds all this in place is the distinctive feel of the band itself. Recorded live over four days at Tokerahi Homestead in North Otago, this music is challenging, graceful, soulful and, yes fun. Needless to say, it cooks. Moments of pure joy include David Leahy's double bass solo on JANE, which glides, caresses and somehow talks a mood, John Bell's mantra-like vibraphone patterns on SUMMER SONG, the instantly silly group effoert of CARTOON DONKEY (complete with Bonanza motif), and the mournful, minor key delicacy of DANCING DI, a piece written for a dead friend. There is so much to discover in C.L.BOB. If you have an interest in jazz, this is a must. And at all costs, see them live next time they hit town.

OTAGO DAILY TIMES : 5 May 1998 : Winston Cooper

C.L.BOB is a New Zealand group which takes its title from the surname initials of its members - Steve Cournane, David Leahy, John Bell, Nils Olsen and Simon Bowden. They have an association with the Wellington Jazz Collective, the breeding ground of a bevy of talented musicians and they feature on a previous YELLOW EYE release, but apart from that there is little to discover about the group from the disk notes. The information extends to the fact this recording was made over four days in the home of Mike and Lynn Grey at Tokarahi, North Otago, in April last year. And they obviously enjoyed making it. Playing numbers composed by themselves - three by Bowden and two each by the others - C.L.BOB go at it with a variety of instruments and a range of time signatures, producing some interesting tonal patterns and key shifts. There's shades of cool, suggestions of blues influence, serendipitous syncopation and some memorable riffs from Olsen (saxophone and clarinet), Leahy (trombone) and Bell (trumpet). The overwhelming impression is of a later day jam session, interspersed with quiet, soulful tunes making for a complex mixture showcasing the originality, versatility and musicianship of the group of talented musicians, patently capable of expressing themselves through their playing, at their best in the evocative mood numbers like Leahy's JANE and Cournanes's DANCING DI. They are equally adept, though, one senses, not quite so empathetic, in the boisterous tunes - with the exception being the first track, Bowden's TRANSITIONS, which features a jaunty introduction to a staccato saxophone tour de force building to an emphatic finish, powerful stuff.

EVENING POST : 24 Sept 1998 : Gilbert Haisman

Anyone interested in compositions should check out C.L.BOB, a local jazz quintet. Their CD has many flavours, not least because for them modern jazz, rock, concert music and sundry exotic noises are a single language. The motifs are strong, original and well-shaped, there is humour and great percussion and many sections are wonderfully lyrical. Each time I wondered if the forgotten avant-garde of some years ago was coming back I had to smile instead because Bell, Bowden or Leahy would shine through. C.L.BOB is fine - a solid CD by thoughtful artists who give tradition an experimental edge.

DOMINION : 13 June 1997 : Leigh Jackson

One of the New Zealand's most accomplished original music groups C.L.BOB will tour the country early in the New Year. This exciting five piece has been together for four years in which they have performed from Pahia to Stewart Island. On tour to promote their self-titled debut album, their current adventures take them from Kerikeri to Dunedin. C.L.BOB received rave reviews at the Wellington International Jazz Festival last year, a myriad of styles, making for a colorful and animated performance.