ANDY SHEPPARD QUARTET - Romaria
ECM CD 578 6980 / LP (180g) 6730185
Andy Sheppard: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Eivind Aarset: guitar; Michel Benita: double bass; Sebastian Rochford: drums.
Recorded April 18th to 20th, 2017, Auditoria Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano
This album is the next instalment in Sheppard ‘s Trio Librero expanded with Aarset’s guitar and washes of electronics. Sheppard has previously talked about involving the guitar in the group as a chordal instrument, and it is interesting to note how loosely both he and Aarset interpret this role. Rather than vamping the chords as each piece progresses, the guitarist has the delicate touch of an Impressionist artist, hinting at rather than showing the chords. This delicacy of touch is further exemplified by Rochford’s masterfully nuanced drumming. Here, Rochford is a complete rhythm section (leaving Benita free to treat the bass as another solo instrument). There is a subtlety to Rochford’s playing, where even the smallest, most delicate of sounds carries significant weight. He has a hypnotic, almost subliminal ability to convey not only the tempo of the piece but also its emotional core.
The set opens with ‘And a day…’, in which the tom is tapped in single beats like ticking clock accompanied by arco bass before then Shepherd’s mournful, lyrical melody is introduced. This is a ballad of delicate phrasing, set off by a wonderfully languid bass solo. Throughout the piece, the sparse use of electronics merges with a cymbal wash. Both this and the more upbeat second track, ‘Thirteen’, maintain their tempo and have little rhythmic variation, but still manage to an suggest ebb and flow of emotion.
The title track, ‘Romaria’, is an elegant treatment of a song that is very popular in Brazil. It allows Sheppard ample opportunity to revisit his enthusiasm for the lyrical folk-song. The opening lines of the song (translated by Google) convey its melancholy spirit, ‘It's of dream and dust / The destiny of one alone / Like me lost In thought / On my horse’. The version here takes the sadness of the song and turns into in something approaching a spiritual and graceful optimism.
There is such beauty in this set that… the recording picks up where ‘Surrounded by the Sea’ left off. However, rather than simply taking that sound and repeating it, each player in the quartet has developed their mastery of their instrument in the particular context of the tunes that Sheppard has arranged or composed. As a set, the pieces are relaxed and meditative, but always controlled and sublimely compelling. It might be early in the year to speak of this, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable contender for album of the year.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
ECM CD 578 6980 / LP (180g) 6730185
Andy Sheppard: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Eivind Aarset: guitar; Michel Benita: double bass; Sebastian Rochford: drums.
Recorded April 18th to 20th, 2017, Auditoria Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano
This album is the next instalment in Sheppard ‘s Trio Librero expanded with Aarset’s guitar and washes of electronics. Sheppard has previously talked about involving the guitar in the group as a chordal instrument, and it is interesting to note how loosely both he and Aarset interpret this role. Rather than vamping the chords as each piece progresses, the guitarist has the delicate touch of an Impressionist artist, hinting at rather than showing the chords. This delicacy of touch is further exemplified by Rochford’s masterfully nuanced drumming. Here, Rochford is a complete rhythm section (leaving Benita free to treat the bass as another solo instrument). There is a subtlety to Rochford’s playing, where even the smallest, most delicate of sounds carries significant weight. He has a hypnotic, almost subliminal ability to convey not only the tempo of the piece but also its emotional core.
The set opens with ‘And a day…’, in which the tom is tapped in single beats like ticking clock accompanied by arco bass before then Shepherd’s mournful, lyrical melody is introduced. This is a ballad of delicate phrasing, set off by a wonderfully languid bass solo. Throughout the piece, the sparse use of electronics merges with a cymbal wash. Both this and the more upbeat second track, ‘Thirteen’, maintain their tempo and have little rhythmic variation, but still manage to an suggest ebb and flow of emotion.
The title track, ‘Romaria’, is an elegant treatment of a song that is very popular in Brazil. It allows Sheppard ample opportunity to revisit his enthusiasm for the lyrical folk-song. The opening lines of the song (translated by Google) convey its melancholy spirit, ‘It's of dream and dust / The destiny of one alone / Like me lost In thought / On my horse’. The version here takes the sadness of the song and turns into in something approaching a spiritual and graceful optimism.
There is such beauty in this set that… the recording picks up where ‘Surrounded by the Sea’ left off. However, rather than simply taking that sound and repeating it, each player in the quartet has developed their mastery of their instrument in the particular context of the tunes that Sheppard has arranged or composed. As a set, the pieces are relaxed and meditative, but always controlled and sublimely compelling. It might be early in the year to speak of this, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable contender for album of the year.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
