ARTS GUARDIAN

Monday February 23 1976

RONNIE SCOTT'S

Ronald Atkins

Joy/Landscape

ANOTHER MILESTONE in the history of public sponsorship of jazz has been reached, thanks this time to the Greater London Arts Association. Their Young Musicians scheme has been extended to include jazz groups and the two winners were on show last night at Ronnie Scott's. Joy and Landscape are quintets, both with vaguely similar instrumentation but each working towards different ends.

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With Landscape, bass, keyboard and soprano-saxophone were all electric and the group is obviously in the field referred to as jazz-rock. On his past record the guiding force of the group, John Walters, knows how to organise a band and is interested in commun-cating with his audience by using attractive themes and making the most of his resources. What I heard of the group bore this out. Landscape does not seem to have the individual virtuosity of Joy but their music was more integrated. Perhaps the lesson was that each group had virtues which the other could well latch on to.