A recent review of my Flute Fables CD

Geoff Warren
Flute Fables
Tutu CD 888234
****
Jazzmen who start out from the flute are rare; even Eric Dolphy, Roland Kirk and Yusef Lateef were first heard on the saxophone. English flautist Geoff Warren is an exception. From childhood he was enthusiastic about the flute and dedicated himself to this instrument. As a teenager in the 1970s, he added to his undergraduate interest in classical flute literature, a parallel enthusiasm for the contemporary classics and early modern fusion jazz of the Soft Machine, with its uneven time signatures, and from here on he added the saxophone to his instrumentation. Soon he was to work with the legendary bandleader Graham Collier who was to become an important mentor.

Now after a series of quartet, trio and duo recordings he has opted for a solo project and has created a remarkably varied record, that has avoided the inherent pitfalls in the formula of becoming an aloof or intellectually half-baked work.

Warren uses the tone-colours of concert, alto and bass flutes, and he knows about speaking to you with music. He is a gifted storyteller and makes judicious use of the structuring codes of formal language of both the European tradition and jazz. Despite all his virtuosity, ostensible swaggering is completely alien to him. Melodic richness comes hand in hand with sophisticated dance rhythms. Occasionally, sound designs, loops, or supplemental overdubs are used. These might depart from the inherent logic of the strict solo flute character of this album, and if they do, the music simply delights, uplifting both mind and heart.

Thomas Fitterling, Rondomagazin website Germany. 2012.