Yelena Eckemoff: Rosendals Garden
There is something unsettling and almost wayward that underpins the music of Yelena Eckemoff’s new double CD, Rosendals Garden. It moves in directions you don’t always expect. Sometimes this gives it energy and spontaneity. At other times it raises the question – where is she going with this? Of course, to some extent all improvisation is about making it up as you go along, but Eckemoff seems to revel in lulling us into a sense of security with a groove or a lyrical tune and then gently disturbing us. It’s like gradually realising the table you’re eating from is on a slight slant.
Sometimes the trio are working very much together in a loose groove. At other times they are exploring ideas on their own. This is not without its appeal. There is a playful imagination at work here. Some catchy grooves and lyrical tunes. And constantly changing musical structures.
Eckemoff’s playing is classically inspired, often quite simplistic, full of warm, rhythmic dissonances. Usually it is Svante Henryson’s cello or bowed double bass that pulls everything together, carrying the tunes against tinkling, cascading rills, or riffs on the piano. This works best on tunes like Öresund Bridge, which has a groove that underpins the majority of its six minutes. Ruins Of Älvsborg has an electronic pulse over which Eckemoff and Henryson can freely emote. The compositions may all be Eckemoff’s, but when it comes to the performance, on most of the tracks Henryson is the bona-fide leader of the group.
At best this is moody, atmospheric music, constantly taking us places we do not expect. Occasionally it loses us, leaves us at sea, with no discernible structure to cling onto. This music is inspired by a visit to Sweden and the liner notes are a travelogue. Worth a visit.
Discography
CD1: ABBA Museum; Rodendals Garden; Gamla Stan; Country Orchard Café; Öresund Bridge (42.53)
CD2: Skansen Park; Sunrise in Rimbo; Ruins Of Älvsborg; Storanden Nature Reserve; Strandvägen Pier; Gripsholm Castle (46.00)
Eckemoff (p, kyb); Svante Henryson (clo, b, elb); Morgan Ågren (d, pc). RMV Studio, Stockholm, Sweden. 28-29 August 2024.
L & H Production. LHCD 80615139
The Brass Funkeys: Blow Horn!
There are brass bands playing jazz all over the UK. They vary in size, combination of instruments and repertoire but the working-class tradition of British brass bands has ensured that there is no shortage of talented brass players. Brass bands are mobile, require little (if any) amplification and rely on passion (and volume) rather than virtuosity. They are rooted in a spirit of community. In jazz, they are inevitably influenced by New Orleans, where jazz bands chronicled and celebrated the defining moments of existence – birth, marriage, death. But most do not play what we normally think of as “trad”.
The Brass Funkeys is one of the most successful and established of these in the UK. Despite their name, they do not just play funk, though their best numbers are where a funky riff is played on the sousaphone or tenor sax. As brass bands of this genre go, they are of medium size, nine in all, with an emphasis on trumpets and trombones which play in lively cross-rhythms against the bass line pumped out by the sousaphone. The tenor sax either adds a bit of beef to the trombones or sets up a riff of its own. There are solos, of course, but they are short and soon are overtaken by the momentum of the ensemble playing. This music is not about individuals showing off their skill but the cumulative effect of musicians working together to create energy and excitement.
The tunes on their new album, Blow Horn!, are all original. They range in style through funk, soul, Latin and other world music. Sometimes the drummer pulls them close to rock. Maybe there’s even a bit of mariachi in there. This is not music for an elite band of connoisseurs but for everyone and every age group. This CD may not totally reflect the power of this music played live but it should go a long way towards persuading people to book them. This is music to lift the mood, to mark an occasion, to stir the blood.
Discography
Stewed; Harvey Barnes; Genie In A Bottle; My Pal Aaron Cheeney; Half Half And Half; A Song For Lotte (My Wife); Judy Hench; On Parade; Spice Up Your Life; The Hanging Man; Walk Off; Sybil (43.46)
Jack Banjo Courtney, Rob Smith, Rob Jericho (t); Tom Green, Vij Prakash (tb); Dave Robinson (ts); John Caddick (sous); Harpal Mudhar (d); Fred Harper (pc); Christos Stylianides (t, track 8); Pete Thornton (tb, track 11). Fish Factory Studios, Willesden, London, May 2025.
Independent
Hannah Horton: Stories On The Wind
Hannah Horton’s new album, Stories On The Wind, may not be doing anything revolutionary. It might not make you want to storm the Bastille but it may well make you get off your feet and dance. It’s easy to listen to but far too sophisticated to be described as easy listening. This is jazz as it should be played. The sort of jazz that is like a light in a window on a dark street, a safe haven, intelligent music that is far from artificial. A jazz with a distinctive, personal voice. Despite the title and the accompanying blurb that explains all the problems, emotions and situations that have inspired them there is only one story told by most of the tracks recorded here: everything is going to be all right. Everything is as it should be.
From the opening bars of Out Of The Shadows (was it ever in shadow?) the music is totally engaging. Horton’s tunes have a deceptive simplicity. She writes lyrical, stylish melodies that have groove and momentum, clearly the work someone who has honed her craft to a stage where everything sounds effortless. Her playing, both on tenor and baritone sax, is warm and fluid, expressive without being strained or melodramatic and perfectly aligned with the groove, always at one with the rhythm section.
Horton carries most of the solos, equally at ease on tenor and baritone. They have a relaxed eloquence that is perfectly on groove, full of imagination and expression. She drives this music. When the piano or bass take over, the momentum dips, however imaginative and tasteful the solos. Her baritone solo on Peace Speak curls around the chord changes like smoke from a cigar. Even on slower numbers like Only The Wind Knows and Your Rite she cannot stay introspective for long as she always seems to aspire to a groove.
This is music that never puts a foot wrong, played by a quartet that is perfectly in synch both rhythmically and emotionally. Happy listening!
Discography
Out Of The Shadows; Chasing Daisies; Peace Speak; Whisper; Only The Wind Knows; Your Rite; The Fortune Teller; Alone; Remembering Mr Gone (44.42)
Horton (ts, bar); Sam Leak (p, org); Rob Statham (elb); Steve Taylor (d, pc). Red Kite Studio, Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire, August 2025.
Swinging Cat Records SCRCD04
