ORIGINS 1965-1967

This is a little bit of a misnomer, as these recordings are actually by The Jazz Trio and not Affinity at all. Two of these members of this band (Lynton Naiff and Mo Foster) did go on to form Affinity in 1968 but on these recordings Mo is on drums and not the bass for which he became widely known. So if you were expecting an album with the vocals of Linda Hoyle then you will be disappointed, as this is a trad jazz album which is totally instrumental (apart from one bonus number from 1980 featuring Linda). On top of that the recording levels vary as some were recorded without an audience, some with; some are complete performances while others are not. That being said, this is actually very enjoyable.

Lynton has a delicate style on the piano, Nick Nicholas is a dab hand on the double bass and Mo is more than just making up the numbers on the drums. This is delicate jazz, music to relax to; music to lose one in and I found that when playing this I could just drift away without a care in the world. It may not strictly be Affinity but it does show where the band came from and is a worthwhile release in its' own right. Mo has provided a family tree and there are also notes and photos from the period in the booklet.

Originally appeared in Feedback #80, Sept 2004