MATTHEW HALSALL
COLOUR YES (2023 REISSUE)
RELEASE DATE: 21 July 2023
LABEL : Gondwana Records
FORMAT:
Indies exclusive dark green vinyl

Following the debut of Sending My Love, now remastered and remixed with additional tracks, Mancunian trumpeter Matthew Halsall teams up with labelmate Nat Birchall, pianist Adam Fairhall, bass player Gavin Barras and alternating drummers Gaz Hughes and Marek Dorcik for Colour Yes, an album of melodic and often meditative jazz.
As with its predecessor there's a pleasantly trad feel to all this, taking on the feel and character of a fairly conventional club combo, albeit with an uncommonly heightened sense of musical intuition. Halsall sounds especially strong during the record's quieter passages, slowing the pulse to stealthy, dulcet levels on 'I've Been Here Before', leaving room for restrained, melancholy intonations counterbalanced by the prickly harp of Rachael Gladwin.
Halsall gathered support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No Chaser and beyond. But Halsall was never completely happy with how his records were presented and as part of Gondwana Records 10th anniversary decided to revisit the recordings, meticulously remixing and remastering them for vinyl and commissioning new artwork from Ian Anderson, one of his favourite designers. These then are the definitive editions of the records. Colour Yes features the equally striking 'It's What We Do' and 'Ai'.
As with its predecessor there's a pleasantly trad feel to all this, taking on the feel and character of a fairly conventional club combo, albeit with an uncommonly heightened sense of musical intuition. Halsall sounds especially strong during the record's quieter passages, slowing the pulse to stealthy, dulcet levels on 'I've Been Here Before', leaving room for restrained, melancholy intonations counterbalanced by the prickly harp of Rachael Gladwin.
Halsall gathered support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No Chaser and beyond. But Halsall was never completely happy with how his records were presented and as part of Gondwana Records 10th anniversary decided to revisit the recordings, meticulously remixing and remastering them for vinyl and commissioning new artwork from Ian Anderson, one of his favourite designers. These then are the definitive editions of the records. Colour Yes features the equally striking 'It's What We Do' and 'Ai'.
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