Tom Smith: A Year In The Life (Fey Moose Records FMR001)
Suddenly, a resurgence of interest in big bands is in the air. Always been around, but locally, from the London Improvisers Orchestra to the Manchester Big Gay Big Band, rather than countrywide. How economic it is remains a mystery, and whilst Simon Spillett’s appears only intermittently – understandably to full houses – Down For The Count’s slice of brazen nostalgia is touring the country to sell-out audiences and the Stacey Brothers are getting critical acclaim. A handful of live dates for saxophonist Tom Smith’s big band will come on the heels of this debut album.
Like Spillett’s aggregation, the emphasis is on a more contemporary style of material, and Smith’s is a mixture of exciting and tight arrangements, which integrate compositional form with creative solos. There is an urgency and richness from the large brass section, bringing to mind the work of earlier arrangers like Gerald Wilson (Speedboat In Trouble, Saviour Suzanne), and at times even Lalo Schifrin (Aplomb, on which Stacey Brothers’ trombonist Trevor Mires is featured). The lively Swansea Uproar has close, punchy ensemble work and spirited solos from Smith himself on alto, pianist Will Barry, tenor saxophonist Alex Garnett and the impressively edgy-toned Dan Higham on trombone.
A couple of the tracks have a more “British” jazz/rock feel, notably those featuring guitarist Jamie McCredie, although there’s too much going on in We’re Being Watched for this listener, but there’s enough to grab the attention elsewhere. On the strength of this, live gigs will be worth investigating.
Ben Wendel: Understory – Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition Records EDN1254)
Of course, if you’re going to record a live album, the Village Vanguard isn’t a bad place to have up your sleeve. With his quartet of highly regarded East Coast musicians, saxophonist Ben Wendel shows his authority, his tone varying between the plaintive and the explosive; very much the leader but with valuable support, especially from pianist Gerald Clayton.
After finding their feet on the opener, Lu, they launch into a relentless outpouring of energy and spiky unison on Proof. At one point Clayton hangs behind, effectively accentuating the freneticism. Bass and drums, in the capable hands of Linda May Han Oh and Obed Calvaire, hang in well, their rapport established from an association going back to 2008.
By contrast, Scosh has these two laying down a constant groove into which Wendel and Clayton make excursions, whilst Jean & Renata and Tao are more circumspect; easy and attractively melodic rhythms.
There are elements of Rollins in Wendel’s playing – his phrasing and economy – and superficially On The Trail could be something from Way Out West. But the hoofbeats of a trusty steed clip-clopping across the prairie soon extend into openness. This is the only non-Wendel composition, from Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite, first performed by Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra in 1931 and its Americana pedigree confirmed as background music at the Santa Fe and Disneyland railroad. Evidently Sonny isn’t the only Old Cowhand around.
Angelica Sanchez, Barry Guy & Ramon Lopez: Live At Jazzdor (Maya Recordings MCD2401)
And talking of live dates, further over on the spectrum of the music comes this trio of improvisers, recorded at the Jazzdor Festival, Strasbourg in November 2023. Bassist Barry Guy is well known in this country, although based in Switzerland for some time now. He has collaborated with percussionist Ramon Lopez for a while, and American pianist Angelica Sanchez slots in with ease.
The overall feel is one of understanding and awareness as Lopez links with Guy. The drum patterns form soft layers then prod, push and lay off to create space, at times unassumingly, but with sudden rushes Lopez will assert himself, as on Jazzdor ll, with open-sounding tomtoms, simmering clusters of cymbals and a barrage of the full kit. An assemblage of tumbling pans, a junkyard approach full of surprise, while Sanchez moves in, out and around the areas of individual invention and collective improvisation.
There’s a deal of more formal phrasing about Sanchez’s playing. She’s not averse to using a romantically inclined theme, even throwing in a few lines of what sounds like Oleo (on Jazzdor l), but then regaling us with a thunderous volley (Calyces Of Held) which then turns on a sixpence, or joining the others in channelling their instruments into vibrating energy. On Blue Horizon her piano is soulfully deep with a kaleidoscope of textures, a composition dedicated to M.H., presumably baroque violinist (and wife of Barry Guy) Maya Homburger. A stirring tour de force.
Tension is created within the music, not between the protagonists. The result is a series of vignettes, skilfully inventive and seamlessly moving between interactive improvisation and individual emphases. A delicate touch here, a collective fusillade of sound there.
And all the time Guy is unobtrusively guiding, the director who allows actors room for expression; a commanding presence without dominating, whether it’s a big resonant sound, bowing with a particular serenity, or briefly drawing a chainsaw out of the toolbox. And to paraphrase the Rubaiyat: “The plucked note speaks, and having spoken, moves on.” Done. No going back. The beauty of the live performance.
Kyle Shepherd Trio: A Dance More Sweetly Played (Matsuli Music MM129)
Although this isn’t a live album, South African pianist Kyle Shepherd has spoken about the benefits of performing live: “The more I perform concerts across the world, the more I appreciate how important audiences are… everything from the acoustics, the piano, the energy and mood in the room really matters.”
Shepherd is an established film and theatre composer and this album is dedicated to fellow countryman and artist William Kentridge, with whom Shepherd has worked, providing the music for Kentridge’s opera, Waiting For The Sibyl, based on the Greek legend and first performed at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in 2019.
The album’s title is a reference to More Sweetly Play The Dance, a video installation by Kentridge which features a procession of moving figures in silhouette, reflecting the individuality of humans, the body and the power of dance to ward off death. The title track itself has a touch of classicism about it, veering towards a slow tango.
The music here is a straightforward trio recording, improvisations around themes, but given the inspiration from his close friend and mentor, the late saxophonist Zim Ngqawana, and Shepherd’s admiration for Abdullah Ibrahim, it’s no surprise that there are echoes of typically African piano. For Oumou Sangaré (a Malian singer) and Shozi are cases in point – distinctively repetitive rhythmic left hand; melody and improvisation played in the mid and upper reaches of the piano. Although there are African undercurrents provided by bassist Shane Cooper and drummer Jonno Sweetman, Shepherd stretches further out on Neo Marabi.
Amada Part 1 and Amada Part 2 are slower, lyrical pieces, Shepherd soloing for a while, whilst Teardrop is a cover of the Massive Attack number, using the popular tune as a vehicle for personal expression. There’s a gently heroic, anthemic touch to Liberation Movements, Sweetman providing an under-riding shuffle beat, before it buoyantly opens up.
An interesting mixture of music, harmonious and often peacefully contemplative.
