Illusion

Avant jazz-song at its very best, performed by a world-class ensemble led by Julie Tippetts (one of the UK's finest vocalists from the last 50 years) and multi-instrumentalist Martin Archer, their first album together for 6 years, and their most ambitious work to date. The two CDs can be listened to separately and in any order. Each volume offers a different perspective on a common theme. Circle Of Whispers is a sequence of 13 separate and contrasting songs, performed by various small groups drawn from the JTMA Ensemble, plus some guest musicians. Each song details a character/situation whose presence is hinted at in the companion disc. The result is a powerful and often intensely beautiful record. By contrast, Illusion Suite, although split into 7 tracks, is a single piece of music that runs without a break for 75 minutes. The music is structured like a DJ mix - with elements appearing, reappearing, and