Compassionate Dictatorship

Compassionate Dictatorship: Entertaining Tyrants

by Bruce Lindsay
June 30, 2013

Six years after its debut album, Coup D'Etat (FMR Records, 2007), and three years after its follow-up, Cash Cows (FMR Records, 2010), Compassionate Dictatorship returns with Entertaining Tyrants. Album number three finds the London-based quartet moving away from the influence of progressive rock, which shaped some of Cash Cows, and into a sound that is much more focused on contemporary jazz. The band's musicianship and accessibility remain high, though, ensuring that Entertaining Tyrants is highly enjoyable.But first, the ...

Compassionate Dictatorship: Cash Cows

by Bruce Lindsay
June 30, 2010

Compassionate Dictatorship inhabits a musical space where modern jazz and '60s-era Canterbury scene progressive rock meet. It's a strange space, ready to trap the unwary in a muddle of English whimsy or to reward the more enlightened with warm melodies and inventive but accessible tunes. Compassionate Dictatorship is an enlightened combo and the reward is apparent on Cash Cows. Cash Cows is the band's second album, following Coup D'Etat (FMR Records, 2007). Both albums share the same ...

Compassionate Dictatorship: Coup d'Etat

by Ben McDonnell
November 6, 2007

An eclectic amalgam of improvisation, strong melodic themes and rhythmic twists is perhaps the best way to characterize Coup d'Etat, the debut album by Compassionate Dictatorship.

Comprised of four of London's most prominent jazz musicians--Jez Franks (guitar), Tori Freestone (sax), Jasper Hoiby (bass) and Ben Raynolds (drums)--Compassionate Dictatorship manages to achieve a cohesive group sound that still allows each member's original voice to be heard. The group is already receiving significant notice, and is looking forward ...