Tom Lyne: Well Mixed Blue (LisaLeo Records 001)
Canadian double bassist Tom Lyne has lived in Scotland for the last 27 years. He’s been the bassist for much of this time in pianist Dave Milligan’s trio. He’s played with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, with pianist Brian Kellock and for several years has performed as a duo with longstanding partner, singer & guitarist, Sophie Bancroft. Lyne has released eight albums with her. He’s also recorded a solo album, Far From Mars, featuring original electronic-based compositions. On Well Mixed Blue, he’s partnered by his old pal, Milligan.
Milligan has worked with Art Farmer, Buddy DeFranco, Larry Carlton, Scott Hamilton, Tina May and others. As well as being a sought-after jazz pianist, he’s a leading figure in the Scottish contemporary folk scene. He co-founded the folk big band, Unusual Suspects and regularly plays piano with the String Sisters.
Well Mixed Blue comprises 12 musical pieces, 11 of them penned by Lyne. The reflective opener, Sea More, prepares the listener for much that follows – thoughtful, often delicate melodies with richly resonant tones from both artists. The number that Lyne didn’t write is his solo rendition of Marcus Miller’s Run For Cover, the shortest track on the album at 2.25 minutes. Three Sides Now has spritely piano. Good examples of how Milligan likes to supply melody with a choppy edge are heard in Use Me and Slow To Home. Strains of Scottish folk song lurk in The Bent Peg, the longest piece at seven minutes.
The title track is rooted in Backward Country Boy Blues from the second version of Money Jungle, the 1962 LP by Ellington, Mingus and Roach. Lyne tells us, “We interpret it here, but we’ve slipped in some Coltrane-style changes to make it just a bit more uncomfortable and more challenging.” He says the album’s music as a whole is “fundamentally song-based, with storytelling at its core, both in the writing and the improvisation”. It’s a concise description but intriguingly leaves us guessing as to what those tales might be about. The full tracklist with samples of all 12 pieces can be found here.
Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko & Volker Goetze: Sargal (Motéma Music MTM0455)
German trumpeter and composer Volker Goetze is based in New York. He’s released three albums in collaboration with Senegalese kora master, Ablaye Cissoko – Sira in 2008, Amanké Dionti 2012 and Djaliya in 2014. Goetze continued his explorations of West African oral culture by linking up in 2021 with Cissoko’s brother, a singer and fellow kora player, Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko, to record the album Sargal.
Ali Cissoko, who’s worked with Angelique Kidjo, Trilok Gurtu and Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa, blends the oral traditions of the Mandinka people with Senegalese and Western influences. Six of the 10 songs on Sargal are composed by him together with two written jointly with Goetze. The latter composed Koratango and the title track.
Sargal means “gratitude” in Wolof, the main language of Senegal. The album features intricate kora fingerwork, soulful flugelhorn and trumpet, vibrant rhythms and Cissoko’s impassioned singing. It celebrates life, family and the resilience of the human spirit. Its content is stirring, often melancholic. Some of the melodies can sound a little similar. No doubt they are distinguishable to the indigenous listener by their differing storylines. However, that benefit is not afforded to those of us who aren’t au fait with Wolof. That being said, all the music on this album is beautifully executed. The duo are joined on three of the tracks by percussionist Mino Cinélu (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Weather Report). For a taste, have a listen here to the title track.
Adrian Cox Trio: Club Croco (APP Records)
When he was 15 Adrian Cox left his family home in Burgess Hill to join Richard Bennett’s trad band. Since then he’s played in a variety of outfits and over the last 27 years has become a leading exponent of New Orleans clarinet. He’s now based in Sweden. Prior to the current release, Cox issued four full albums – Profoundly Blue, Now Is Spring, The Hour Off and Both Sides Now – as well as three EPs – Profoundly Blue Pt 2, Clarinet Fantasy and Makin’ Runs – and four singles.
Accompanying the clarinettist on Club Croco are New Zealand guitarist Alex “Honey” Boulton and French bassist Alex Gilson. This top-class trio deliver fresh arrangements of nine songs culled mostly from the early jazz era in New Orleans with two from succeeding decades.
Cox also sings on three of the tracks, not least a full-throated interpretation of I Ain’t Gonna Give You None of My Jelly Roll composed by Spencer & Clarence Williams, first recorded by Wilbur Sweatman’s Original Jazz Band in 1919. Three of the tracks, Courthouse Bump, The Pearls and Mamanita were penned by Jelly Roll Morton. New Orleans Stomp and Tears were written by Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong. Two Deuces was composed by Hardin after she married Satchmo and became Lil Armstrong. It was recorded by her husband’s Hot Five. Bluer Than Blue was written by her with Avon Long and recorded in 1938 by her Swing Orchestra. Lastly, Why, jointly composed by Ed Werac with Jelly Roll Morton, was recorded by the latter’s sextet in 1940.
Sound quality throughout the album is superb. The trio manage to capture the authentic essence of the era whilst also supplying a contemporary slant to the music. To give you an idea, have a look at them performing The Pearls in Taunton earlier this year. Sound samples from the album and further details can be found here.
