For the last 12 years, Mancunian pianist Jamie Safir has usually been seen and heard accompanying singers such as Annie Lennox, Veronica Swift, Will Young and Kylie Minogue. Now, he’s branched out with Momentism, a recording where for once he’s the leader. He’s supported in this endeavour by Conor Chaplin on bass and Luke Tomlinson drums. Tenor saxist Iain Ballamy features in five of the album’s 11 numbers.
All songs are composed by Safir apart from Amethyst which he co-wrote with vocalist Emma Smith. His melodic solo piano that bookends the title track has a distinctly classical feel to it. Boulevardier, which follows, is a more chirpy affair with Iain Ballamy making his entrance on tenor sax and then by contrast moving into plaintive mode in Zacharius. The less melodic Hirsuit Pursuit is rather repetitive on piano but things improve in Amethyst with its resemblance to Magnus Hjorth’s talented pianism when the latter played in Snorre Kirk’s various outfits. On it, Tomlinson plays drums in the same tasteful and understated manner that Kirk adopts too.
Duke Balington, a play on Ellington’s name, has Ballamy leading a slow-paced blues with a convoluted melody line while Black Star Sapphire (subtitled For Strayhorn) sounds just like a piece that Billy Strayhorn might well have written. Safir and Bellamy quicken the pace in Clocker, which features an intricate bass interlude from Chaplin. Then there’s more repetitive piano in the slow-paced World In The Evening, followed by the somewhat similar-sounding Mad Sad Bad with Bellamy languid on tenor. Safir closes the album with a short, wistful piano solo, Esprit D’Escalier, quietly fading at the end.
This is emotive, heartfelt music but it made me feel a bit dispirited at the end. I think the insertion of two or three more upbeat numbers would have helped to lighten the overall atmosphere.
Discography
Momentism; Boulevardier; Zacharius; Hirsute Pursuit; Amethyst; Duke Balington; Black Star Sapphire; Clocker; The World In The Evening; Mad Sad Bad; Esprit D’Escalier (51.09)
Safir (p); Conor Chaplin (b); Luke Tomlinson (d); Iain Ballamy (ts) London, 16 February 2026.
Chill Tone Records CT0009