Short Reviews [Manna/Mirage - 2023 - "Autobiographie"]

According to Dave’s Bandcamp site this is the last album we will hear from Manna/Mirage, which is a real shame as this is possibly the most enjoyable to date. Dave Newhouse of course provides most of the instruments, and on a couple of tracks all of them, but he has also brought in old friends such as ex-Muffins bandmates Michael Bass and Michael Zentner, his Moon Men and Cloud Over Jupiter colleague Jerry King, along with the likes of Guy Seger from Univers Zero. Dave has been at the forefront of the Canterbury/Jazz/Avant Prog scene for more than 50 years now, and I have yet to come across any of his releases which are less than thoroughly enjoyable and that is again what we have here. Dave does not feel he is restricted by what anyone expect of him, and consequently he goes where the music takes him, so if he wants the guys to “play it like they're in a small band in a seedy club in Berlin in 1933”, as he requested for those involved with “Practicing Tonglin In A Time Of War” then that is what happens. He is also never restricted in what instruments he uses, so arrangements can be very different indeed from one song to the next, and his high presence in the scene means he has access to more music and musicians than the normal person. One song on this album, “Section W”, started off life as a piece on the compilation album ’ Frets of Yore’ which I reviewed recently, here extended and given new life. Another song was originally written for Moon Men and has now been released here. There is a life and presence in all he is involved with, and even though he is not as young as he used to be, Dave is hugely active in multiple different musical projects as well as continuing with his artwork. This means that although this may be the end of Manna/Mirage, there is still plenty of music left to come from him, and long may that continue. For fans of the Canterbury scene this is a wonderful album which twists and changes so one never knows what is coming yet, all wrapped in the wonderful arrangements and musical sensibilities of Newhouse.