AMN Reviews: James Hill and Don Campau – The Only Way to Fly [Lonely Whistle]

The Only Way to Fly is a collection of six tracks describing a hypothetical getaway to parts unknown. The recording, which features James Hill on trumpet and Don Campau on keyboards, electronics, and studio composition, reverses the usual sequence of many distance collaborations, which frequently involve layering a lead instrument over pre-recorded backing tracks. For this project, by contrast, the process worked in reverse: Hill recorded trumpet solos that Campau then edited, occasionally sound-manipulated, and devised accompaniment for, generally with a synthetic rhythm section consisting of samples of drums and acoustic double bass, along with live keyboards. Campau’s accompaniments anchor many of the tracks with looped riffs and static harmonies for a funk-jazz effect, which is enhanced in places by reverbed and delayed or electric wah-wah trumpet. The samples are surprisingly life-like, particularly the drums-and-brushes of Last Drink at the Terminal Lounge and the pizzicato bass on One Too Many Connections. As might be expected, Campau throws us a couple of sonic curveballs, whether in introducing one track with distorted spoken word recordings or adding a tamboura drone sweeping across the audio space of Tore Up the Return Ticket.

Daniel Barbiero