CHIP WICKHAM – La Sombra
Lovemonk
Chip Wickham: saxophone and flute; Gabri Casanova: piano; David Salvador: double bass; Antonio Pax: drums and vibraphone.
Recorded at Red Lion Studios, Madrid
Chip Wickham has spent a quarter of a century touring and recording jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronic in settings as diverse as Nightmares on Wax, The New Mastersounds, Roy Ayers, Matthew Halsall, Badly Drawn Boy and Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. On this set, he leads his own quartet, playing his own compositions. Suitably, the CD is called la sombra, or the shadows, and is him stepping out on his own. That the album was preceded by a single (track 2, ‘Sling Shot’ on this set) gives a feel for the approach to music that he is most familiar. This is a bass driven piece with piano vamp, echoed by vibraphone, against which the sax plays a strong melodic line. It sounds very much like the sort of ‘60s jazz that was played in clubs in the ‘90s, and the piano vamp on this (and some of the other tracks) carries hints of House music from that time. A similar feel is created on four of the other tracks. Wickham’s playing is confident and strong, on both saxophone and flute, and provides a master-class in pushing melodic exploration in a space defined by dance rhythms. His exuberant flute soloing on the closing track, ‘La Layenda del Tiempo’, is worth getting hold of this CD.
The set opens with the more contemplative title track, ‘La Sombra’, which gently develops into a haunting flute solo. This, and the other slower tempo pieces, ‘Pushed Too Far’, ‘Tokyo Slow-Mo’, show that the composing and playing can be controlled and beautifully balanced. This is in neat contrast to the swing of the up tempo pieces which have a real groove to them and which I could imagine get a dance floor moving. It would be great to hear these pieces played on national radio, where they are sure to find an enthusiastic cross-over audience.
Revied by Chris Baber
Lovemonk
Chip Wickham: saxophone and flute; Gabri Casanova: piano; David Salvador: double bass; Antonio Pax: drums and vibraphone.
Recorded at Red Lion Studios, Madrid
Chip Wickham has spent a quarter of a century touring and recording jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronic in settings as diverse as Nightmares on Wax, The New Mastersounds, Roy Ayers, Matthew Halsall, Badly Drawn Boy and Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. On this set, he leads his own quartet, playing his own compositions. Suitably, the CD is called la sombra, or the shadows, and is him stepping out on his own. That the album was preceded by a single (track 2, ‘Sling Shot’ on this set) gives a feel for the approach to music that he is most familiar. This is a bass driven piece with piano vamp, echoed by vibraphone, against which the sax plays a strong melodic line. It sounds very much like the sort of ‘60s jazz that was played in clubs in the ‘90s, and the piano vamp on this (and some of the other tracks) carries hints of House music from that time. A similar feel is created on four of the other tracks. Wickham’s playing is confident and strong, on both saxophone and flute, and provides a master-class in pushing melodic exploration in a space defined by dance rhythms. His exuberant flute soloing on the closing track, ‘La Layenda del Tiempo’, is worth getting hold of this CD.
The set opens with the more contemplative title track, ‘La Sombra’, which gently develops into a haunting flute solo. This, and the other slower tempo pieces, ‘Pushed Too Far’, ‘Tokyo Slow-Mo’, show that the composing and playing can be controlled and beautifully balanced. This is in neat contrast to the swing of the up tempo pieces which have a real groove to them and which I could imagine get a dance floor moving. It would be great to hear these pieces played on national radio, where they are sure to find an enthusiastic cross-over audience.
Revied by Chris Baber
