Shear Brass: Extraordinary Journey (Ireton records R01CD/LP)
George Shearing (eventually Sir George) was one of the first British jazz musicians to make a significant mark on the US scene after visiting and then settling in the USA in 1946. He started out playing with a strong bop slant, influenced particularly by Bud Powell, but would in due course develop a style which was often dismissed, unfairly, as “cocktail jazz”. He had committed the sins of being popular and easy to listen to, but players such as Gary Burton, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall and Hank Jones were happy to work with him, which shouldn’t surprise anyone with discerning ears. For years after he disbanded his quintet, which had been readily identifiable by the melodic front-line partnership of vibes (Cal Tjader) and piano, his subsequent work, solo or with a duo or trio, confirmed that he was still a highly inventive player, effectively merging elements from throughout his career.
This is the second album by Shear Brass, which was formed by Shearing’s great nephew, drummer Carl Gorham, and it mixes some of George’s compositions with standards and a couple of originals by the band’s pianist, James Pearson. Gorham has also added lyrics to a couple of Sir George’s tunes. These and three other tracks showcase the voices of Sarah Moule and Romy Sipek, Shearing’s great-great niece. The excellent arrangements are by Jason McDermid, often throwing interesting new light on old war-horses (if that is not mixing too many metaphors) such as the Tizol-Ellington classic Caravan which includes a brief quote from The Sailor’s Hornpipe – well, why not?
Despite the band’s name the arrangements are not unduly brass-heavy and saxophonist Pete Long contributes on most tracks. The task of embodying Sir George falls to Pearson and he does superbly, not least on his own beautiful piece Shear Delight. The vibes are tackled elegantly by Anthony Kerr. The album serves as an excellent tribute but even if you’ve never heard Shearing the abundance of fine solos and ensembles is reason enough to appreciate it.
Sol Sol: Oscillations (Sail Cabin SCRCD005)
This Swedish quartet of sax, guitar, bass and drums is new to me, but some of the tracks on their latest album visit fairly familiar territory – for example, there is the opening piece, foregrounding Elin Forkelid’s powerful tenor, which immediately evokes John Coltrane’s Ascension. Thereafter, although the influence of Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders is never too far away, the group’s improvisations and the compositions by Forkelid and guitarist David Stakenas range more widely, with subtle echoes of Brazilian, First-Nation American and other folk traditions surfacing in a number of passages.
All these strands are brought together in a coherent and highly effective manner and never swamp the jazz and improv elements. Stakenas’s ballad, Elvira Segura, for example, presents the band in a very contrasting mood, with graceful guitar and serene tenor sax, and Forkelid’s languid and atmospheric Archimboldo beautifully showcases her alto playing alongside a gentle and expressive guitar counterpoint. The Native American echoes surface on Indian Summer, which evolves into a fiery workout spotlighting Forkelid’s fierce soprano sax. It’s an altogether striking album which makes me want to explore their previous releases.
