Review of PD3's Into the Blue

Spiritual pleasure

By Gareth Foreman
Jazz bands come and go with lightning alacrity, but one act that deserves to stand the test of time are PD3, who have just released their second album, Into The Blue.
If a better guitar album has been released this year it would be a miracle.
I was impressed with the Morden-based band's debut Street Scene and spent the last year wondering if they would be able to reach those heights again on their second album.
However, Pete Downes, Andy Coe and Tim Bruce have surpassed all my expectations with an album that is nothing short of brilliant.
The jazz guitar playing of Pete, backed by the rhythm section of Andy and Tim, has moved on from Street Scene and entered a new dimension. Although the music is the same, Into The Blue has a much more spiritual feel to it.
This was the album PD3 were meant to record, like Floyd's Dark Side Of the Moon or Miles Davies' Kind Of Blue ultimately listenable without a single bad track.
The material is a mixture of original and cover material, some of which are completely leftfield, but fit perfectly. Fragile by Sting sits alongside My Favourite Things, while Don't Know Why, which was a hit for Norah Jones, also gets the PD3 treatment. Another great moment is when the band get stuck into Hendrix's Little Wing.
Pete's guitar playing, while at the helm, never dominates the playing allowing us to hear some intricate interplay between drum and bass.
Into the Blue, 50 minutes of sheer pleasure, was released on Tuesday. To get a copy visit www.petedownes.com
12:21pm Thursday 25th November 2004