Christy Doran Nows The Time - Btlchr71214 - Jazz - by Between The Lines

“Now’s The Time” is not an album on which the seasoned master Christy Doran approaches the music of Charlie Parker. Instead, it is the CD we have waited 20 years for, on which Christy again devotes a lot of time to his acoustic guitar during a whole exciting album. And his band “New Bag” only plays acoustic instruments too. Christy Doran was born in Ireland and has lived in Switzerland since he was a child. He has played with an infinite number of musicians in his career, including Marty Ehrlich, Ray Anderson, Jasper van´t Hof, Trilok Gurtu, Victor Lewis and Louis Sclavis. His records from the 70s with the project OM on ECM are legendary and will be reissued soon. He has made a name for himself over the past years especially with his band “New Bag” and the “Jimi” project with Erika Stucky, Fredy Studer and Kim Clarke. “Now’s The Time” is the fourth album by Christy Doran’s New Bag and the first acoustic one, an almost logical development, because he is always searching for new paths and challenges and no electricity is required for the energy and power of Doran’s music. Despite that, “Now’s The Time” is electrifying. At times spurred on by the voice of Bruno Amstad, at other times by the repeatedly surprising ideas of the other band members, Christy revs up into top form and will certainly make a few people slide nervously back and forth on their seats. The band grooves, rocks and mixes the whole thing with flawless jazz solos. It is simply a very exclusive and explosive mixture. Jazz thing wrote about the preceding album "Perspectives" (Between the Lines BTLCHR 71204): “Irritating, fascinating, multifaceted: the music of the Swiss guitarist and his new project New Bag does not fit into any established category … a fresh breeze from the Alps, which clears your head thoroughly – that is, if you keep your ears open.” And Bruce Gallanter from DMG (New York) added: "Should go down well with ageing hippies like myself, fusion knuckleheads, jam-band folks and those open to some great playing, no matter what it is called."