Held on the Tips of Fingers explained

Held on the Tips of Fingers
Type:Album
Artist:Polar Bear
Cover:Polar_bear_held_on_the_tips_of_fingers_album_cover.jpg
Released:21 March 2005
Recorded:Snake Ranch and Exchange Studios
Genre:Jazz
Length:37:00
Label:Babel Label and The Leaf Label (2014 re-issue)
Producer:Sebastian Rochford, Robert Harder, Oliver Weindling
Prev Title:Dim Lit
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Polar Bear
Next Year:2008

Held on the Tips of Fingers is the second album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear.

Background

Held on the Tips of Fingers was released in 2005 on Babel Label and later re-released by The Leaf Label in 2014.[1] This album sees Polar Bear's original line up augmented by London-based electronic artist, songwriter and producer Leafcutter John, who has played a distinctive role in shaping the group's later albums.

Critical reception

Held on the Tips of Fingers received strong reviews in the UK press and was called "a highly creative successor to the equally distinctive Dim Lit" [2] by The Guardian and "an even more thrilling and momentous affair than its predecessor…..radical, invigorating and heartening" [3] in All About Jazz.

Observer Music Monthly placed the album at number 12 in its list of the "Top 100 Albums of 2005" [4] and Jazzwise placed the record at 100 in the article "100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". They called Rochford "the most gifted jazz drummer of his generation" and described the music on the record as "sublimely original chamber music" and "groundbreaking".[5]

The success of Held on the Tips of Fingers led to Polar Bear being shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005,[6] about which Rochford said "I feel really privileged, it's an honour, especially as it's such a big field, not a genre-specific thing."[7] This nomination and its ensuing publicity enabled the band to reach a far wider audience than they had been able to previously.

Track listing

All music written by Rochford

Personnel

Additional musicians

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Polar Bear Album Reissues . The Leaf Label . December 8, 2014 . 28 May 2014.
  2. Web site: Polar Bear, Held On The Tips Of Fingers . The Guardian . John . Fordham . March 18, 2005 . May 28, 2015.
  3. Web site: Polar Bear: Held On The Tips Of Fingers . All About Jazz . Chris . May . March 24, 2005 . May 28, 2015.
  4. Web site: Countdown: the OMM top 100 albums . Observer Music Monthly . December 8, 2005 . 28 May 2015 . 28 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150528175931/http://observer.theguardian.com/omm/story/0,13887,1667418,00.html . dead .
  5. Web site: 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World . Jazzwise . September 9, 2006 . 28 May 2015.
  6. Web site: Albums of the Year . Mercury Prize . 2005 . 28 May 2015.
  7. Web site: Who's The Genius Of New Jazz . London Evening Standard . July 22, 2005 . 28 May 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150528181931/http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/music/whos-the-genius-of-new-jazz-7280959.html . 28 May 2015 .