ANDY HAGUE - Coming Of Age
Ooh-Eer Records Ooh-Eer007
Andy Hague (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Waghorn (tenor saxophone); Jim Blomfield (piano); Chris Jones (double bass); Mark Whitlam (drums)
Recorded 30th & 31st July 2018
Andy Hague has been a regular presence on the Bristol jazz scene for more than 25 years. Equally adept drums, it is usually with trumpet in hand that he fronts his own groups. This latest recording, his first since the 2012 release, Cross My Palm, finds him with his regular quintet, and the cohesiveness and empathy within the group is immediately apparent. Immersing themselves in ten of Hague's original compositions, it is the quality of the writing coupled with the spirited playing of all that lifts the set above the norm and marks it out as something special.
The front line partnership works extremely well with Waghorn's big, expansive and warm sound on tenor a perfect foil for Hague's sharp edged and incisive trumpet. This is heard in the superb title track, that the leader describes as "a kind of anthemic rock ballad", and this trick is a repeated (albeit at a slower tempo) on the closing 'Conflict Resolution' which has some great melodic lines exchanged between flugel and tenor. Throughout proceedings the rhythm section are exemplary. They swing hard on 'Stepping Down' which features a superb solo form pianist, Jim Blomfield, whose accompaniment on every track is right on the money.
Much is asked of all the musicians in a set of nicely varied original compositions that retain the attention from start to finish. There are a couple of big numbers in the aforementioned 'Coming Of Age' and 'Conflict Resolution' with a couple of contrasting pieces in 3/4 in the the sparse and rather stark 'In The Bleak Mid-Autumn' and in the gently 'Loopy' with its cyclic feel that derives from three sections which are major thirds apart.
This is a smart and varied album, that sets the bar high in terms of the compositions and certainly delivers in execution, and therefore comes highly recommended.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Ooh-Eer Records Ooh-Eer007
Andy Hague (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Waghorn (tenor saxophone); Jim Blomfield (piano); Chris Jones (double bass); Mark Whitlam (drums)
Recorded 30th & 31st July 2018
Andy Hague has been a regular presence on the Bristol jazz scene for more than 25 years. Equally adept drums, it is usually with trumpet in hand that he fronts his own groups. This latest recording, his first since the 2012 release, Cross My Palm, finds him with his regular quintet, and the cohesiveness and empathy within the group is immediately apparent. Immersing themselves in ten of Hague's original compositions, it is the quality of the writing coupled with the spirited playing of all that lifts the set above the norm and marks it out as something special.
The front line partnership works extremely well with Waghorn's big, expansive and warm sound on tenor a perfect foil for Hague's sharp edged and incisive trumpet. This is heard in the superb title track, that the leader describes as "a kind of anthemic rock ballad", and this trick is a repeated (albeit at a slower tempo) on the closing 'Conflict Resolution' which has some great melodic lines exchanged between flugel and tenor. Throughout proceedings the rhythm section are exemplary. They swing hard on 'Stepping Down' which features a superb solo form pianist, Jim Blomfield, whose accompaniment on every track is right on the money.
Much is asked of all the musicians in a set of nicely varied original compositions that retain the attention from start to finish. There are a couple of big numbers in the aforementioned 'Coming Of Age' and 'Conflict Resolution' with a couple of contrasting pieces in 3/4 in the the sparse and rather stark 'In The Bleak Mid-Autumn' and in the gently 'Loopy' with its cyclic feel that derives from three sections which are major thirds apart.
This is a smart and varied album, that sets the bar high in terms of the compositions and certainly delivers in execution, and therefore comes highly recommended.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
