ANDY SCOTT + GROUP S - Ruby and all things purple
Basho Records SRCD 52-2
Andy Scott: tenor saxophone; Rob Buckland: sopranino and soprano saxophones; Krzysztof Urbanski: soprano saxophone; Simon Willescroft: alto and soprano saxophones; Dave Graham: alto saxophone; Mike Hall: tenor saxophone; John Helliwell: tenor saxophone; Rob Cope: tenor and baritone saxophones; Chris Caldwell: baritone saxophone; Jim Fieldhouse: baritone and bass saxophone; Gwilym Simcock: piano; James Pusey: guitar; Laurence Cottie; bass guitar; Elliott Henshaw: drums.
Special guests (on track 12) - Barbara Thompson: tenor saxophone; Jon Hiseman: drums
Recorded 2nd – 4th January 2015 Temple Studios, London
Andy Scott is well known for his work with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet and SaxAssualt, although the collection of musicians who make-up Group S have a history of playing together from the mid-1990s. One of the anecdotes in the liner notes has Scott asking Wayne Shorter what he would call a group of saxophones, to which he replied ‘Group S’. On this recording, a collection of 10 saxophonists from across the spectrum (from pop to jazz to classical) come together to produce a set of very varied music. Of the 12 tracks, Scott has composed and each shows an interesting and different edge to his well-honed musicianship. The opening (and title) track reminded me of the late-70s compositions of Gil Evans; the repeated descending five note minor theme played by the ensemble and strong soloing from Pusey, Graham, Urbanski, Willescroft and Buckland made this a stand-out track for me. This piece was, to some extent, echoed by the closing track, ‘La Grande Image’, in which Thomspon (who, with Hiseman, owns the recording studio) and Halliwell trade some beautifully melancholy solos. ‘Eighteen’ (track 4) features baritone (Fieldhouse) and sopranino (Buckland) working off each other in the extreme ranges of the saxophone family. ‘Group S’, track 5, features some superb solo work work by Urbanski and then a lovely duet playing between Urbanski and Buckland on sopranos. Urbanski also solos on Simcock’s haunting composition ‘Serenade’.
The mix of jazz playing and improvisation and arrangements which carry a classical flavour creates some fascinating textures. In addition to some fine sax playing, the album also boasts excellent solos from Simcock (particularly on track 8, 'Tin Can') and Pusey. The set moves from small group playing, often in the form of a trio around Simcock’s piano, to the full-on attack of all of the saxophones. For me, when all of the saxophones play on Simcock’s arrangement of the kitsch pop song ‘Sex Bomb’, track 10, made the group sound like a novelty act and rather undermined the elegant interplay that they showed on the opening track. When each musician is giving the space to play, the result is spell-bending and proves that an orchestra of saxophones can be easily as effective as more conventional groupings.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Basho Records SRCD 52-2
Andy Scott: tenor saxophone; Rob Buckland: sopranino and soprano saxophones; Krzysztof Urbanski: soprano saxophone; Simon Willescroft: alto and soprano saxophones; Dave Graham: alto saxophone; Mike Hall: tenor saxophone; John Helliwell: tenor saxophone; Rob Cope: tenor and baritone saxophones; Chris Caldwell: baritone saxophone; Jim Fieldhouse: baritone and bass saxophone; Gwilym Simcock: piano; James Pusey: guitar; Laurence Cottie; bass guitar; Elliott Henshaw: drums.
Special guests (on track 12) - Barbara Thompson: tenor saxophone; Jon Hiseman: drums
Recorded 2nd – 4th January 2015 Temple Studios, London
Andy Scott is well known for his work with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet and SaxAssualt, although the collection of musicians who make-up Group S have a history of playing together from the mid-1990s. One of the anecdotes in the liner notes has Scott asking Wayne Shorter what he would call a group of saxophones, to which he replied ‘Group S’. On this recording, a collection of 10 saxophonists from across the spectrum (from pop to jazz to classical) come together to produce a set of very varied music. Of the 12 tracks, Scott has composed and each shows an interesting and different edge to his well-honed musicianship. The opening (and title) track reminded me of the late-70s compositions of Gil Evans; the repeated descending five note minor theme played by the ensemble and strong soloing from Pusey, Graham, Urbanski, Willescroft and Buckland made this a stand-out track for me. This piece was, to some extent, echoed by the closing track, ‘La Grande Image’, in which Thomspon (who, with Hiseman, owns the recording studio) and Halliwell trade some beautifully melancholy solos. ‘Eighteen’ (track 4) features baritone (Fieldhouse) and sopranino (Buckland) working off each other in the extreme ranges of the saxophone family. ‘Group S’, track 5, features some superb solo work work by Urbanski and then a lovely duet playing between Urbanski and Buckland on sopranos. Urbanski also solos on Simcock’s haunting composition ‘Serenade’.
The mix of jazz playing and improvisation and arrangements which carry a classical flavour creates some fascinating textures. In addition to some fine sax playing, the album also boasts excellent solos from Simcock (particularly on track 8, 'Tin Can') and Pusey. The set moves from small group playing, often in the form of a trio around Simcock’s piano, to the full-on attack of all of the saxophones. For me, when all of the saxophones play on Simcock’s arrangement of the kitsch pop song ‘Sex Bomb’, track 10, made the group sound like a novelty act and rather undermined the elegant interplay that they showed on the opening track. When each musician is giving the space to play, the result is spell-bending and proves that an orchestra of saxophones can be easily as effective as more conventional groupings.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
