TIM GARLAND - Songs to the North Sky
Edition Records: EDN1051 (2 CD set)
Tim Garland (saxes. bass clarinet and flute) with Jason Rebello, John Turville and Geoffrey Keezer (piano); Asaf Sirkis (percussion); Ant Law (electric & steel string guitars); Kevin Glasgow (electric bass); John Patitucci (acoustic & electric bass); Neil Percy (tuned and classical percussion); Magdalena Filipczak (solo violin) with the strings of The Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Tim Garland’s latest release, a two disc set featuring both his Lighthouse Trio and a suite of pieces for saxophone and string orchestra, confirms him as a master of musical synthesis bringing together elements of jazz, folk and classical idioms and presenting them in a way that becomes more impressive and distinctive with each successive release.
The first disc contains eight pieces in which his Lighthouse trio assays and augments many of the stylistic preoccupations that have informed his career thus far, through his work with the folk/rock group` Lammas` , and chamber jazz groups, `Acoustic Triangle` and `Storms & Nocturnes`. Bringing together the post –Coltrane discursiveness of Michael Brecker and the Nordic yearnings of Jan Garbarek, which he invests with the echo of Northumbrian pipes, Garland produces a sound that is unmistakably his own and one which allows him the move with great eloquence through a repertoire of pieces that combine folk dance, balladry, and elegiac threnodies with energetic post-bop surges of powerful tenor playing.
Keyboard duties are shared between the three pianists named above with Keezer adding a touch of Appalachian airiness to the opening jig like `Uplift` whilst the lyricism of Lyle Mays is invoked by Rebello in the lilting song form, `Little Sunshine`. On four tracks Ant Law on guitar is a third of the trio whilst on others Kevin Glasgow subs on electric bass : both make a telling contribution, the latter powerfully lifting the retrospective `Lammas Days` whilst Law’s eerie harmonics and distortions add a dramatic dimension to the atmospheric lament, `Farewell To Ed`.
Completing the group is the ever resourceful Andy Sirkis who has percussive solution for every twist and turn in the music’s direction. His customised drum kit operates in every mode from bodhram, tabla, and djembe, right through to four on the floor, flat out swing.
The trio discs ends with a duet for soprano and piano which effectively translates the potentially incongruous Michael Jackson pop hit `She’s Out Of My Life` into an English air bringing to close a recital that whilst reflecting the E.C.M ethos exudes an earthy, pastoral quality that roots it in a British aesthetic
British pastoralism is at the heart of the music on the second disc which like Garland’s earlier orchestral suite , `And The Sea Replied` fulfils the overtly programmatic function of a tone poem whilst providing a concertante setting for his saxophone and obligato opportunities for other instrumentalists. This time Garland takes inspiration from the towering skies of Northumbria, with brooding cloud formations and incipient storms rumbling on distant horizons above the quiet communities that inhabit the land. These visions are depicted musically in writing for strings that is reminiscent of Britten, Vaughan Williams but mostly Tippet’s searing `Double Concerto for String Orchestra’; add to this menacing percussion and the yearning, questing sound of the saxophone straining against the boundaries of convention that might represent human aspiration confronting the limitations imposed by nature. Pieces like `Storm Over Kielder` and `Shapes Over Northumberland` are obvious candidates for this programmatic interpretation but others like `Tyne Song` , `Freedom to Wander` and `A Journeyman’s Horizon` emphasise the human element in their use of song form themes, marching rhythms and folk music fiddling for solo violin.
The strongest jazz element occurs in a piece called `Sage & Time` in which Garland throws everything into a hard bop tenor solo. At the end of the suite the piece is reprised as a sort of bonus track re-mix adding Ant Laws guitar, some punchier jazz drumming and a funky electric bass line but I would strongly advise listeners to play this only after pausing to reflect on the mood invoked by the suite itself lest it drains some of the power from the embrace of the idyllic mood. The continuity of the theme is also slightly impaired by the inclusion of four somewhat redundant solo bass interludes performed by John Pattitucci for fine bass playing though it undoubtedly is, all but one of these break up the momentum of the music. The one that does work is a multi-tracked Arco solo which complements the foregoing writing for strings whilst the others don’t seem to serve any other purpose than introduce a celebrity name to enhance commercial appeal.
This, however, is a minor impediment, in a disc that represents a triumph for Garland and all involved and will be enjoyed on many levels by lovers of good music, brilliantly executed.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Edition Records: EDN1051 (2 CD set)
Tim Garland (saxes. bass clarinet and flute) with Jason Rebello, John Turville and Geoffrey Keezer (piano); Asaf Sirkis (percussion); Ant Law (electric & steel string guitars); Kevin Glasgow (electric bass); John Patitucci (acoustic & electric bass); Neil Percy (tuned and classical percussion); Magdalena Filipczak (solo violin) with the strings of The Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Tim Garland’s latest release, a two disc set featuring both his Lighthouse Trio and a suite of pieces for saxophone and string orchestra, confirms him as a master of musical synthesis bringing together elements of jazz, folk and classical idioms and presenting them in a way that becomes more impressive and distinctive with each successive release.
The first disc contains eight pieces in which his Lighthouse trio assays and augments many of the stylistic preoccupations that have informed his career thus far, through his work with the folk/rock group` Lammas` , and chamber jazz groups, `Acoustic Triangle` and `Storms & Nocturnes`. Bringing together the post –Coltrane discursiveness of Michael Brecker and the Nordic yearnings of Jan Garbarek, which he invests with the echo of Northumbrian pipes, Garland produces a sound that is unmistakably his own and one which allows him the move with great eloquence through a repertoire of pieces that combine folk dance, balladry, and elegiac threnodies with energetic post-bop surges of powerful tenor playing.
Keyboard duties are shared between the three pianists named above with Keezer adding a touch of Appalachian airiness to the opening jig like `Uplift` whilst the lyricism of Lyle Mays is invoked by Rebello in the lilting song form, `Little Sunshine`. On four tracks Ant Law on guitar is a third of the trio whilst on others Kevin Glasgow subs on electric bass : both make a telling contribution, the latter powerfully lifting the retrospective `Lammas Days` whilst Law’s eerie harmonics and distortions add a dramatic dimension to the atmospheric lament, `Farewell To Ed`.
Completing the group is the ever resourceful Andy Sirkis who has percussive solution for every twist and turn in the music’s direction. His customised drum kit operates in every mode from bodhram, tabla, and djembe, right through to four on the floor, flat out swing.
The trio discs ends with a duet for soprano and piano which effectively translates the potentially incongruous Michael Jackson pop hit `She’s Out Of My Life` into an English air bringing to close a recital that whilst reflecting the E.C.M ethos exudes an earthy, pastoral quality that roots it in a British aesthetic
British pastoralism is at the heart of the music on the second disc which like Garland’s earlier orchestral suite , `And The Sea Replied` fulfils the overtly programmatic function of a tone poem whilst providing a concertante setting for his saxophone and obligato opportunities for other instrumentalists. This time Garland takes inspiration from the towering skies of Northumbria, with brooding cloud formations and incipient storms rumbling on distant horizons above the quiet communities that inhabit the land. These visions are depicted musically in writing for strings that is reminiscent of Britten, Vaughan Williams but mostly Tippet’s searing `Double Concerto for String Orchestra’; add to this menacing percussion and the yearning, questing sound of the saxophone straining against the boundaries of convention that might represent human aspiration confronting the limitations imposed by nature. Pieces like `Storm Over Kielder` and `Shapes Over Northumberland` are obvious candidates for this programmatic interpretation but others like `Tyne Song` , `Freedom to Wander` and `A Journeyman’s Horizon` emphasise the human element in their use of song form themes, marching rhythms and folk music fiddling for solo violin.
The strongest jazz element occurs in a piece called `Sage & Time` in which Garland throws everything into a hard bop tenor solo. At the end of the suite the piece is reprised as a sort of bonus track re-mix adding Ant Laws guitar, some punchier jazz drumming and a funky electric bass line but I would strongly advise listeners to play this only after pausing to reflect on the mood invoked by the suite itself lest it drains some of the power from the embrace of the idyllic mood. The continuity of the theme is also slightly impaired by the inclusion of four somewhat redundant solo bass interludes performed by John Pattitucci for fine bass playing though it undoubtedly is, all but one of these break up the momentum of the music. The one that does work is a multi-tracked Arco solo which complements the foregoing writing for strings whilst the others don’t seem to serve any other purpose than introduce a celebrity name to enhance commercial appeal.
This, however, is a minor impediment, in a disc that represents a triumph for Garland and all involved and will be enjoyed on many levels by lovers of good music, brilliantly executed.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
