Thanks to Trevor Hodgett for this excellent review: ' Cynosure? A person who is the centre of admiration. Well, alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts is certainly that for he has been one of the most compelling figures in British jazz since the 1960s, when he co-founded the bracingly abstract Spontaneous Music Ensemble before, in the 1980s and beyond, leading the African music-influenced Moire Music.
Cynosure was recorded in 1976 and originally issued by Ogun in 1978. On tracks like 'Another Time' and 'Chip' the band, an octet, plays with raging power, with the musical emphasis being on the ensemble, on collective improvisation. Watts' colleagues are all technically formidable and fearless sounding improvisers (the drummer, some might be surprised to note, is long-time Steeleye Span member Liam Genockey) and after playing the album some listeners might find themselves exhausted by the unceasing intensity and ferocity of the music - but equally they are likely to find themselves strangely exhilarated by the adventurousness of the playing.
The label's motto is 'music that deserves to be out there' and the music on Cynosure, including the three live bonus tracks added to the reissue, is, I'm happy to say, out there in more ways than one.
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