ALBAN CLARET & EVAN CLEGG - The Collection
Alban Claret - guitar; Evan Clegg - trumpet; Duncan Eagles - tenor saxophone; Luke Fowler - double bass;
Kuba Miazga - drums
Recorded live at Noatune Studios
Alban Claret was born in the South of France and began playing the guitar when he was eight years old. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands with Martijn van Iterson. He has played with many luminaries, including Gregory Hutchinson and David Liebman.
Evan Clegg grew up in Yorkshire and studied jazz trumpet at Royal Welsh College of Drama and Trinity College of Music. He has performed in many of London's notable venues and in Europe, the USA, Mexico, India and the Middle East. He has toured with Max Romeo and Lee Scratch Perry and played with Kenny Wheeler. influences but is a unique voice of his own.
When the two met at Tate Britain, they discovered a shared love of bebop and composition. Their subsequent collaboration has led to the release of their debut album 'The Collection'. The material is a repertoire of original material rooted firmly within the jazz tradition yet remaining at once compelling and accessible to listeners.
When asked why such young players found their groove in the jazz of the 1950s, CLaret told me, " Jazz has had too much of an elitist direction, and we want to break that." Clegg added, " We wanted to create a sound that is deeply informed by the history yet accessible to our audience. It's about the heart and feel of the music.
Their music does indeed speak powerfully of influences including Charlie Parker, Lennie Tristano and Miles Davis and has a mix of respect for traditional arrangements, interwoven with improvised passages. 'The Collection' opens with the title track, a catchy upbeat original blues which makes a bold statement and showcases proficiency in taking a standard form in an entirely new, surprising direction. Duncan Eagles' sax adds a deft solo, which gives way to ensemble harmonies and solos from guitar, trumpet, and double bass all over steadfast drums. A great tack to introduce the ensemble.
'A La Parker' is a joyful escapade, reflecting Parker's phrasing yet twisted and set on a topsy-turvy journey, each musician taking a supportive role whilst the trumpet and saxophone deliver steady solo work. A very traditional passing of the lead to and fro amongst the band members works a treat.
'Unprescribed Playfulness' is slower and uses meandering phrases which create textures and depth, out of which the extended guitar solo rises and then falls, giving way to the sax. The track becomes increasingly intense as Eagles sax soars around improvised lines before the track settles back to the original form.
'Mind Block' could have been lifted from one of the great jazz club stages of the late 1950s, and here, the arrangement incorporates a modern twist with a deftly delivered trumpet over the rest of the ensemble. The guitar solo is fast and enhanced by the beautifully precisely pointed nature of the percussion before a lovely all too brief conversation between the sax and drums. The trumpet emerges across the top, and the ensemble finishes as one.
'Stella By Artois' is a take on a familiar number - and still delivered with a unique style which, by now, is becoming a trademark of the ensemble - a set of passages followed by solos from everyone before an ensemble finish. Eagles's sax interpretation is stand-out here.
'Winter Pace' is a fast-moving, energetic number with powerful solo work from trumpet, sax and guitar and some interesting rhythm patterns, while ' Get Al In town ' is a tribute to Tristano and has some lovely harmonies and spaces which emphasise the rhythms clearly before it swings into a relaxed section with muted trumpet sighing over the ensemble.
Throughout the album, what is clear is not only the expertise of Claret and Clegg but their clever choice of personnel to support and emphatically reflect the solo work. The album is a joyful tribute to jazz masters of the past and near-present, with a unique character added by this combination of musicians. While we were discussing a review of this album, Clegg told me, ' We are really proud of this album', and he has every right to be. It is a debut album that will undoubtedly provide the impetus for more work of similar quality and character.
Reviewed by Sammy Stein
Alban Claret - guitar; Evan Clegg - trumpet; Duncan Eagles - tenor saxophone; Luke Fowler - double bass;
Kuba Miazga - drums
Recorded live at Noatune Studios
Alban Claret was born in the South of France and began playing the guitar when he was eight years old. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands with Martijn van Iterson. He has played with many luminaries, including Gregory Hutchinson and David Liebman.
Evan Clegg grew up in Yorkshire and studied jazz trumpet at Royal Welsh College of Drama and Trinity College of Music. He has performed in many of London's notable venues and in Europe, the USA, Mexico, India and the Middle East. He has toured with Max Romeo and Lee Scratch Perry and played with Kenny Wheeler. influences but is a unique voice of his own.
When the two met at Tate Britain, they discovered a shared love of bebop and composition. Their subsequent collaboration has led to the release of their debut album 'The Collection'. The material is a repertoire of original material rooted firmly within the jazz tradition yet remaining at once compelling and accessible to listeners.
When asked why such young players found their groove in the jazz of the 1950s, CLaret told me, " Jazz has had too much of an elitist direction, and we want to break that." Clegg added, " We wanted to create a sound that is deeply informed by the history yet accessible to our audience. It's about the heart and feel of the music.
Their music does indeed speak powerfully of influences including Charlie Parker, Lennie Tristano and Miles Davis and has a mix of respect for traditional arrangements, interwoven with improvised passages. 'The Collection' opens with the title track, a catchy upbeat original blues which makes a bold statement and showcases proficiency in taking a standard form in an entirely new, surprising direction. Duncan Eagles' sax adds a deft solo, which gives way to ensemble harmonies and solos from guitar, trumpet, and double bass all over steadfast drums. A great tack to introduce the ensemble.
'A La Parker' is a joyful escapade, reflecting Parker's phrasing yet twisted and set on a topsy-turvy journey, each musician taking a supportive role whilst the trumpet and saxophone deliver steady solo work. A very traditional passing of the lead to and fro amongst the band members works a treat.
'Unprescribed Playfulness' is slower and uses meandering phrases which create textures and depth, out of which the extended guitar solo rises and then falls, giving way to the sax. The track becomes increasingly intense as Eagles sax soars around improvised lines before the track settles back to the original form.
'Mind Block' could have been lifted from one of the great jazz club stages of the late 1950s, and here, the arrangement incorporates a modern twist with a deftly delivered trumpet over the rest of the ensemble. The guitar solo is fast and enhanced by the beautifully precisely pointed nature of the percussion before a lovely all too brief conversation between the sax and drums. The trumpet emerges across the top, and the ensemble finishes as one.
'Stella By Artois' is a take on a familiar number - and still delivered with a unique style which, by now, is becoming a trademark of the ensemble - a set of passages followed by solos from everyone before an ensemble finish. Eagles's sax interpretation is stand-out here.
'Winter Pace' is a fast-moving, energetic number with powerful solo work from trumpet, sax and guitar and some interesting rhythm patterns, while ' Get Al In town ' is a tribute to Tristano and has some lovely harmonies and spaces which emphasise the rhythms clearly before it swings into a relaxed section with muted trumpet sighing over the ensemble.
Throughout the album, what is clear is not only the expertise of Claret and Clegg but their clever choice of personnel to support and emphatically reflect the solo work. The album is a joyful tribute to jazz masters of the past and near-present, with a unique character added by this combination of musicians. While we were discussing a review of this album, Clegg told me, ' We are really proud of this album', and he has every right to be. It is a debut album that will undoubtedly provide the impetus for more work of similar quality and character.
Reviewed by Sammy Stein
