Review Sofa King - Fin Review

Former Melbourne trumpeter Scott Tinkler may finally have cracked it with his fourth album, judging by early notices from abroad for this new disc.
Tinkler has cemented his spot among our most acclaimed musicians and his reputation is finally becoming more than a local fact. When it comes to Tinkler, it's best to leave your preconceptions completely behind. He's not like anyone else. It's as if the previous language of the instrument has been obliterated; Tinkler makes the trumpet talk in a new way, not just in his expressive devices - a panoply of left-field slurs, baleful smears, split notes, lateral slews, drunken careens, half-valve singing - but in the entire direction of his originality. The same goes for his compositions. You won't hear the blues in here, or much bop, though he swings mightily. This is pure expressionism that avoids idiomatic description or allegiances. And there's no hurry: the tempos are moderate and the tunes are long. With total assurance, Tinkler and the lads (Adam Armstrong, bass, Simon Barker, drums) converse with urgency and languor, introspection and spearing attack.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW - WEEKEND, MAY 8-9, 1999
	Sofa King Scott Tinkler Trio (OriGin)
	Former Melbourne trumpeter Scott Tinkler may finally have cracked it with his fourth album, judging by early notices from abroad for this new disc. Tinkler has cemented his spot among our most acclaimed musicians and his reputation is finally becoming more than a local fact. When it comes to Tinkler, it's best to leave your preconceptions completely behind. He's not like anyone else. It's as if the previous language of the instrument has been obliterated; Tinkler makes the trumpet talk in a new way, not just in his expressive devices - a panoply of left-field slurs, baleful smears, split notes, lateral slews, drunken careens, half-valve singing - but in the entire direction of his originality. The same goes for his compositions. You won't hear the blues in here, or much bop, though he swings mightily. This is pure expressionism that avoids idiomatic description or allegiances. And there's no hurry: the tempos are moderate and the tunes are long. With total assurance, Tinkler and the lads (Adam Armstrong, bass, Simon Barker, drums) converse with urgency and languor, introspection and spearing attack. Shane Nichols