The ingredients of this music are familiar, but in the hands of Paula Gardiner and her fine group of musicians they acquire a compelling new impetus. While her instrumental work (mostly on bass) is beyond reproach, Gardiner’s greatest strength – if not the greatest of all musical strengths – is composition, arrangement and programming. Familiar sounds are carefully wrought into striking new shapes, the band delivers them with impeccable craftsmanship and the tunes have been sequenced in a way that stays the finger on the eject button.
The record’s lyricism, muted timbres and minor tonalities might occasion comparisons with the ECM house style, but the similarity ends there, since on Methenyesque Latin numbers like Do Not Go Gentle and One Day the pulse is powerfully stated and there’s plenty of harmonic activity. The lyricism is especially apparent in the impressionistic ballad writing, Breathing, with its distant fluting, recalling Debussy’s L’Après-Midi, and the piano introduction to Tales echoing the harmonies of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. Like Debussy and Grieg, Gardiner seems to have been inspired by rural landscapes – in this case those of her adopted home, Wales.
Although Gardiner’s forte is composition, she leaves plenty of space both for individual interpretation of the score and blowing the changes. John Parricelli – one of the best of the younger generation of British guitarists – and Mark Edwards – once of the Tommy Chase band – take full and fruitful advantage of their breaks. Ron Parry, an unsung local hero from Brighton, plays appropriately throughout, combining delicacy with vigour in just the right measure.
A beautifully conceived and executed debut for Paula Gardiner, recommended in particular to those who habitually look beyond these shores for the real thing.
Discography
Do Not Go Gentle / No Ghosts; Sea Of Tranquil Spirit; Breathing; Tales Of Inclination; Andante; Kaleidoscope; Waiting; Madeleine’s Theme; One Day! (54.39)
Gardiner (b, f, g); John Parricelli (elg); Mark Edwards (p, kyb); Ron Parry (d). Llandwrog, Wales, 1995.
(Sain SCDC 2103)
