ANT LAW - The Sleeper Wakes
Edition EDNDA1158
Ant Law: guitar; Michael Chillingworth: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Ivo Neame: piano; Tom Farmer: acoustic bass; James Maddren: drums; Tim Garland: tenor saxophone; Adam Kovacs: percussion.
Review 1:
Returning after his 2018 ‘Life I know’ album, UK guitarist Ant Law assembles a cast of young British jazzers who will be familiar to JazzViews readers from their various recordings. For Law, this set represents a flip-side to the ‘Life I know’ in that the pieces here are all exuberant and positive (which, in itself, is antidote to the prevailing times). Chillingworth, Neame, Farmer and Maddren have been with Law for some time and their relationship is clearly grounded in an understanding of how each other plays and in the ways in which Law creates his tunes.
As an introduction to the approach of Law and his band, a good place to start is the version of ‘My Old Flame’ (track 9) in which the players combine to produce a hypnotic and graceful reading of this classic tune, with the melody being played cleanly by several overlapping instruments. Law has discussed the influence of modal composition techniques, such as the use of perfect fourths, in interviews about his ‘Life I Know’ set. In this structure (just like diminished sevenths, say), chords are built on equal intervals so that is not, as such, a root. To get the root, players will be responding to the melody lines, and this approach was particularly popular with jazz guitarists like Tal Farlow, Barney Kessell, Wes Montgomery. And the way that Law sets his sound, with a light treble and carefully constructed runs is reminiscent of many of these classic players. But most listeners I suspect, will hear the tunes rather than then experiments in chord structure and composition. His experimentation with composition also relates to the sources that he draws upon. So, for instance, ‘Our church’ (track 6) draws upon Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on theme by Thomas Tallis – and cleverly manages to create piece that marries 20th Classical music with 16th Century and still manages to sound like a gentle jazz ballad.
While the over-arching theme of this set of compositions is the passage of time (with obvious references in titles such as ‘Remembering’, track 8, and ‘Swan song’, track 11) the prevailing mood is optimistic, as reflected in ‘Harvest’, track 7, or the opener pair of tracks (‘The sleeper sleeps’ and ‘The sleeper wakes’) which are based on H.G Wells story of a man who sleeps for 203 years and wakes to discover he is the richest man on earth (due to the benefit of compound interest on his property and the activity of the White Council who manage his wealth). It is, perhaps, interesting that Wells’ parable of revolution being betrayed by a wealthy elite gives an ironic twist to the optimism; Wells was suggesting that you should be careful what you wish for, and perhaps Law’s focus here on the silver lining is to obscure any clouds surrounding it.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
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Review 2:
Ant Law has established a formidable reputation as a fiercely intelligent, uncompromisingly forward looking musician, able to muster an impressive technique in the service of a rigorously organised musical vision. Of late he’s been part of Tim Garland’s band along with Asaf Sirkis and Jason Rebello, and Garland is here to lend his distinctively precise, clear-toned tenor things off with the twinned title tracks ‘The Sleeper Sleeps ’ and ‘The Sleeper Awakes’, which develop through a cleanly articulated bass solo from Tom Farmer into a joyously swinging piece of post-bop, with plentiful creative soloing spiced with Adam Kovac’s percussion, before shifting gears into a delightfully poised, elaborate coda. Law has previously embraced the knottier end of contemporary prog-jazz, notably with his last release ‘Life I Know’ and this album sees a deliberate lightening of the mood, though without compromising either complexity or quality. So while ‘Magic Mike’ starts with a typically adventurous statement from the consistently remarkable Chillingworth, it develops into a keeningly melodic minor-key piece over a steady groove, with a lovely Corea-flavoured solo from Ivo Neame, ‘Our Church’ is a hushed, lyrical ballad, and ‘Harvest’ has a gently pastoral ambience with bass clarinet and shuffling brushwork from the ubiquitous Maddren, who as ever fits perfectly into whatever space he is called upon to occupy. ‘Her Majesty’ shows that Law remains a demanding employer as he puts his band through the paces of a complex multi-metered piece: all the players are well chosen for their compatibility and their ability to combine an adventurous disposition with a very high level of precision so that the complex compositions sound natural and unforced. There’s even a standard, ‘My Old Flame’, preceded by a beautifully wrought and executed solo from Law that shows his real originality on his instrument. ‘Swan Song’ is a lovely closing ballad, full of warmth. This is a very well conceived and executed album from one of the UK’s most original talents, at the helm of an all-star band, showing that he’s not afraid to embrace the light as well as the darkness, and that complexity can be tempered with accessibility without loss of quality.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Edition EDNDA1158
Ant Law: guitar; Michael Chillingworth: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Ivo Neame: piano; Tom Farmer: acoustic bass; James Maddren: drums; Tim Garland: tenor saxophone; Adam Kovacs: percussion.
Review 1:
Returning after his 2018 ‘Life I know’ album, UK guitarist Ant Law assembles a cast of young British jazzers who will be familiar to JazzViews readers from their various recordings. For Law, this set represents a flip-side to the ‘Life I know’ in that the pieces here are all exuberant and positive (which, in itself, is antidote to the prevailing times). Chillingworth, Neame, Farmer and Maddren have been with Law for some time and their relationship is clearly grounded in an understanding of how each other plays and in the ways in which Law creates his tunes.
As an introduction to the approach of Law and his band, a good place to start is the version of ‘My Old Flame’ (track 9) in which the players combine to produce a hypnotic and graceful reading of this classic tune, with the melody being played cleanly by several overlapping instruments. Law has discussed the influence of modal composition techniques, such as the use of perfect fourths, in interviews about his ‘Life I Know’ set. In this structure (just like diminished sevenths, say), chords are built on equal intervals so that is not, as such, a root. To get the root, players will be responding to the melody lines, and this approach was particularly popular with jazz guitarists like Tal Farlow, Barney Kessell, Wes Montgomery. And the way that Law sets his sound, with a light treble and carefully constructed runs is reminiscent of many of these classic players. But most listeners I suspect, will hear the tunes rather than then experiments in chord structure and composition. His experimentation with composition also relates to the sources that he draws upon. So, for instance, ‘Our church’ (track 6) draws upon Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on theme by Thomas Tallis – and cleverly manages to create piece that marries 20th Classical music with 16th Century and still manages to sound like a gentle jazz ballad.
While the over-arching theme of this set of compositions is the passage of time (with obvious references in titles such as ‘Remembering’, track 8, and ‘Swan song’, track 11) the prevailing mood is optimistic, as reflected in ‘Harvest’, track 7, or the opener pair of tracks (‘The sleeper sleeps’ and ‘The sleeper wakes’) which are based on H.G Wells story of a man who sleeps for 203 years and wakes to discover he is the richest man on earth (due to the benefit of compound interest on his property and the activity of the White Council who manage his wealth). It is, perhaps, interesting that Wells’ parable of revolution being betrayed by a wealthy elite gives an ironic twist to the optimism; Wells was suggesting that you should be careful what you wish for, and perhaps Law’s focus here on the silver lining is to obscure any clouds surrounding it.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
*****************************************************
Review 2:
Ant Law has established a formidable reputation as a fiercely intelligent, uncompromisingly forward looking musician, able to muster an impressive technique in the service of a rigorously organised musical vision. Of late he’s been part of Tim Garland’s band along with Asaf Sirkis and Jason Rebello, and Garland is here to lend his distinctively precise, clear-toned tenor things off with the twinned title tracks ‘The Sleeper Sleeps ’ and ‘The Sleeper Awakes’, which develop through a cleanly articulated bass solo from Tom Farmer into a joyously swinging piece of post-bop, with plentiful creative soloing spiced with Adam Kovac’s percussion, before shifting gears into a delightfully poised, elaborate coda. Law has previously embraced the knottier end of contemporary prog-jazz, notably with his last release ‘Life I Know’ and this album sees a deliberate lightening of the mood, though without compromising either complexity or quality. So while ‘Magic Mike’ starts with a typically adventurous statement from the consistently remarkable Chillingworth, it develops into a keeningly melodic minor-key piece over a steady groove, with a lovely Corea-flavoured solo from Ivo Neame, ‘Our Church’ is a hushed, lyrical ballad, and ‘Harvest’ has a gently pastoral ambience with bass clarinet and shuffling brushwork from the ubiquitous Maddren, who as ever fits perfectly into whatever space he is called upon to occupy. ‘Her Majesty’ shows that Law remains a demanding employer as he puts his band through the paces of a complex multi-metered piece: all the players are well chosen for their compatibility and their ability to combine an adventurous disposition with a very high level of precision so that the complex compositions sound natural and unforced. There’s even a standard, ‘My Old Flame’, preceded by a beautifully wrought and executed solo from Law that shows his real originality on his instrument. ‘Swan Song’ is a lovely closing ballad, full of warmth. This is a very well conceived and executed album from one of the UK’s most original talents, at the helm of an all-star band, showing that he’s not afraid to embrace the light as well as the darkness, and that complexity can be tempered with accessibility without loss of quality.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
