BRIAN MOLLEY QUARTET (with special guest KRISHNA KISHOR) - Intercontinental
BGMM ©004
Brian Molley (tenor and soprano saxes, flute) Tom Gibbs (piano) Brodie Jarvie (bass) Stuart Brown (drums) with Krishna Kishor (percussion)
Recorded at Solas Studios, Glasgow and Melom Studios, Chennai, October 2020.
The rhythmic and improvisational affinities between jazz and Indian classical music have been exploited to great effect over the years and they continue to provide a fertile source of inspiration and creativity as evidenced by this latest release by Brian Molley and his quartet. They are joined on this occasion by Chennai based percussionist, Krishna Kishor, a specialist in the music of South India and contributor to the scores of over 100 Bollywood films, whose startling virtuosity on an array of exotic instruments makes an exciting but sensitively nuanced contribution to six of Molley’s characteristically distinctive pieces as well as performing a short solo interlude of his own devising.
As previous releases have shown Molley, as well as being an accomplished instrumentalist, is a resourceful composer whose creations are rich in literary and cultural allusions, having the spirit of mini-tone poems whilst serving the foundation for flights of improvisational expression and group dynamics. This quality is evident from the outset with a piece entitled `The Crocodile and the Plover Bird` which depicts the curious relationship that exists between the two creatures with Molloy’s legato tenor theme coming over as the sleepy crocodile whilst the choppy percussive rhythm represents the tiny bird picking pieces of debris from the reptile’s teeth; a symbiosis that is given musical form in the poised interplay between the members of the group.
A duo of Molley and Kishor follows which represents the national emblems of Scotland and India, `Lotus and Thistle`, and sounds like a Highland Fling performed against the florid polyrhythms of the sub-continent. The group returns for a vigorous piece inspired by images of a village referenced in Arundhati Roy’s novel, `The God of Small Things` in which the leader takes up his soprano sax and Kishor performs on an unusual single stringed instrument to which he sings a non-lexical vocal refrain made up of guttural syllables, in a style native to the area. The piece also features an exciting exchange between the guest percussionist and Stuart Brown which piles on the energetic momentum.
More literary allusions come into play with a piece entitled `Thursday’s with GK`, a theme inspired by a GK Chesterton novel. It is a mysterious piece which weaves about with a louche Latinesque quality over a simple bass vamp, which generates a warm and fulsome tenor sax solo. Hindu devotional texts and references to Herman Hesse’s `Siddhartha` and Nick Drake’s `River Man` inspire the next piece which depicts a spiritual journey by enlarging a fragment of Tamil Nadu folk melody into a Coltrane like threnody. Opening with heavy piano chords the melodic flow is illustrative of a river crossing whilst the presence of Kishor’s `udu`, clay pot drumming adds a sensation of turbulence.
The penultimate piece is a duo performance by Molley and Tom Gibbs of a piece the group featured on their 2018 tour of India intended to serve as a sort of `hands across the sea` souvenir of Scotland. It is a gentle ballad attributed to Robert Burns delivered with a mellow skirl and bluesy inflections providing a momentary relief from the glare of southern climes before leading into in positively breath-taking finale. `Ramal Dabke` (Dances in the Sand), is a thrilling high octane work-out, prefaced by a soulful rubato improvisation of the type that usually introduces a raga before launching into a rhythm that is more Middle-Eastern than an Indian, motivating some energetic interaction within the group culminating with an incendiary percussion feature played on the djembe and goblet drums. It elicits torrid performances from all hands, bringing to a close another quality production from the Molley aggregation and a worthy addition to the Indo-Jazz Fusion genre, moreover one that is especially valuable because of its original perspectives. With each successive release Molley’s reputation as an instrumentalist, composer and bandleader increases in significance and will surely guarantee him and his colleagues an early elevation to an eminent position on the British and International jazz scenes.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
BGMM ©004
Brian Molley (tenor and soprano saxes, flute) Tom Gibbs (piano) Brodie Jarvie (bass) Stuart Brown (drums) with Krishna Kishor (percussion)
Recorded at Solas Studios, Glasgow and Melom Studios, Chennai, October 2020.
The rhythmic and improvisational affinities between jazz and Indian classical music have been exploited to great effect over the years and they continue to provide a fertile source of inspiration and creativity as evidenced by this latest release by Brian Molley and his quartet. They are joined on this occasion by Chennai based percussionist, Krishna Kishor, a specialist in the music of South India and contributor to the scores of over 100 Bollywood films, whose startling virtuosity on an array of exotic instruments makes an exciting but sensitively nuanced contribution to six of Molley’s characteristically distinctive pieces as well as performing a short solo interlude of his own devising.
As previous releases have shown Molley, as well as being an accomplished instrumentalist, is a resourceful composer whose creations are rich in literary and cultural allusions, having the spirit of mini-tone poems whilst serving the foundation for flights of improvisational expression and group dynamics. This quality is evident from the outset with a piece entitled `The Crocodile and the Plover Bird` which depicts the curious relationship that exists between the two creatures with Molloy’s legato tenor theme coming over as the sleepy crocodile whilst the choppy percussive rhythm represents the tiny bird picking pieces of debris from the reptile’s teeth; a symbiosis that is given musical form in the poised interplay between the members of the group.
A duo of Molley and Kishor follows which represents the national emblems of Scotland and India, `Lotus and Thistle`, and sounds like a Highland Fling performed against the florid polyrhythms of the sub-continent. The group returns for a vigorous piece inspired by images of a village referenced in Arundhati Roy’s novel, `The God of Small Things` in which the leader takes up his soprano sax and Kishor performs on an unusual single stringed instrument to which he sings a non-lexical vocal refrain made up of guttural syllables, in a style native to the area. The piece also features an exciting exchange between the guest percussionist and Stuart Brown which piles on the energetic momentum.
More literary allusions come into play with a piece entitled `Thursday’s with GK`, a theme inspired by a GK Chesterton novel. It is a mysterious piece which weaves about with a louche Latinesque quality over a simple bass vamp, which generates a warm and fulsome tenor sax solo. Hindu devotional texts and references to Herman Hesse’s `Siddhartha` and Nick Drake’s `River Man` inspire the next piece which depicts a spiritual journey by enlarging a fragment of Tamil Nadu folk melody into a Coltrane like threnody. Opening with heavy piano chords the melodic flow is illustrative of a river crossing whilst the presence of Kishor’s `udu`, clay pot drumming adds a sensation of turbulence.
The penultimate piece is a duo performance by Molley and Tom Gibbs of a piece the group featured on their 2018 tour of India intended to serve as a sort of `hands across the sea` souvenir of Scotland. It is a gentle ballad attributed to Robert Burns delivered with a mellow skirl and bluesy inflections providing a momentary relief from the glare of southern climes before leading into in positively breath-taking finale. `Ramal Dabke` (Dances in the Sand), is a thrilling high octane work-out, prefaced by a soulful rubato improvisation of the type that usually introduces a raga before launching into a rhythm that is more Middle-Eastern than an Indian, motivating some energetic interaction within the group culminating with an incendiary percussion feature played on the djembe and goblet drums. It elicits torrid performances from all hands, bringing to a close another quality production from the Molley aggregation and a worthy addition to the Indo-Jazz Fusion genre, moreover one that is especially valuable because of its original perspectives. With each successive release Molley’s reputation as an instrumentalist, composer and bandleader increases in significance and will surely guarantee him and his colleagues an early elevation to an eminent position on the British and International jazz scenes.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
