Andy Hague Big Band: Live At The Lantern (Ooh-Err 10)
Andy Hague is a well-respected trumpet player from Bristol and within the 10 tracks here you get a snippet of what to expect if you catch his big band in action. The recording seems a little bit “bootleg” (by that I mean it’s not too fancy or precious) and I think this is an advantage; what you hear is what was played and at times it really soars. Often live albums lack the energy you get from physically being in the room but somehow this manages to keep the urgency and energy. Brilliant stuff.
We open with Friday Night At The Be-Bop Club, a swinging rat-pack style tune. It sounds a little Mingus-like to me, particularly during the drum break – never a bad thing – and sets up the album perfectly. It tells you that the music is going to have a solid foundation, some interesting brass flurries and a few surprises along the way. I like big-band music when it’s done like this; I often feel that there is a desire to hark back to the classic big bands of yesteryear (I’m talking Ellington, Basie and Miller here) to search out a sound that is almost timeless and vintage, but this doesn’t do that. Instead, it rocks along at a good tempo, managing to sound contemporary and fresh.
Underground is a wonderful, funked-up, brass-lead tune that builds and builds. It’s pure New York sidewalk music in that you can groove to it or simply walk along taking in the different flavours. Ironically, considering how much I like the Art Blakey version, perhaps the weakest track on the album is the seminal Moanin’, but this only goes to show how good these original tracks are.
This is a big album – possibly in need of a bigger production – but definitely in need of a bigger audience and I hope the band finds one with this release. For passing fans of big band like me this is an eye-opener to how big band can be done. It’s big, jazzy, snazzy, multi-layered and fresh.
Stephane Mercier: Live At The Jazz Station (Step By Records SBR-009)
Recorded by Belgian national radio while Mercier was on on tour this short album (only six tracks) is a calling card for his quartet. It appealed to me immediately with its alternation between modern jazz and synthy fusion. The sound is far bigger than the four musicians suggest. This is due in part to the excellent work of UK drummer Darren Beckett, who drives the music and adds interest to every twist and turn. He allows the music to build but also guides it into the quieter dips. There is polite clapping between songs and at the end of solos, but the recording is so crisp that you forget it’s live.
You get a late-night smokey ballad straight from the 1950s Blue Note catalogue in My Ideal. It’s a real throwback but with intricate sax, a swing pattern and a fine piano solo midway the song never falls into the schmaltzy.
We get more synth on Calling Colescott. I think this choice of patch in the wrong hands could unbalance the album, pushing it into Herbie Hancock/Pink Floyd territory, but somehow it works and at one point on this track it morphs into piano before leading to a drum solo. It’s all handled wonderfully, never becoming a distraction.
Belgian Flies is a showcase for the work rate and soloing of bassist Nicholas Thys. The bass switches from solo to engine room, urging the music from the opening sax salvo to synthy keys to a taut, military snare-drum solo.
All in all, this is a brilliantly played album. I’ve been listening to this for a few days now, never once have I skipped a track or grown tired of it. Seek it out.
Alison Rayner Quintet: Sema4 (Blow The Fuse Records – BTF2515CD)
Getting the opportunity to discover new music is a blessing. I get to listen to new albums by bands I might never had heard, and every now and again something pops up that sits perfectly with my personal view of jazz. Alison Rayner does just that, and this is a very good album by a very good band. The Alison Rayner Quintet (or ARQ as they seem to be known) bring oomph, energy and musicality in buckets.
Sema4 is a hell of a ride. It starts big with Espiritu Libre and doesn’t really let up until you find yourself wanting to go around again. What makes it even more impressive is that this is a live recording from a show at the Vortex club in London, and one false move means another track not making it onto the album.
Looking For A Quiet Place reminded me of Manchester trio Go Go Penguin in its isolated piano opening – never a bad thing – but the track builds and builds into a wonderful dramatic peak before returning to that haunting piano.
Hamble Horror again begins with an isolated piano before the band joins. The drums set a frenetic pattern allowing the sax to burst in, all supported by that piano motif and relentless, elegant bass. These songs are fantastic; I can only imagine how the energy and atmosphere in the room must have felt because the band flies.
There are hints of Radiohead on Signals From Space with its intro chords and radio-transmission guitar playing. It’s movie soundtrack meets jazz. The theme steps aside for a tasteful and totally fitting bass solo that’s followed by a soprano-sax break.
The whole album is right up my street. It doesn’t stray too far from jazz but it also has the strength to take that word and tempt you to try new things – just as should be. We finish on the optimistically titled All Will Be Well, which closes with audience clapping and birdsong. I mean, what more could you ask for? Fantastic.
