FREDDIE GAVITA - Transient
Froggy Records - Frog001
Freddie Gavita - trumpet and flugelhorn; Tom Cawley - piano; Calum Gourlay - bass; James Maddren - drums
Freddie Gavita is right at the centre of the UK jazz establishment; as a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and alumnus of NYJO, the John Dankworth Orchestra, and the BBC Big Band and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, he certainly qualifies as an Upcoming Talent, or even a Leading Light. He’s assembled a blue-ribbon trio to back him on his debut recording; all long-time collaborators, their empathy and shared musical vision is evident from the first number, the New Orleans-with-a-twist groove of ‘Strimming The Ham’ . Right from the start, Gavita’s tone and confident, clear delivery impress, as does the quality of his writing - ‘Turneround’ has a tricky structure but sounds natural and accessible, and provides Gourley with space to stretch out in an fluent, big-voiced solo statement.
‘Beloved’ shows that unlike many young jazz lions, Gavita isn’t averse to writing digestible melodies - ‘The Vow’ has a quirkily arranged but memorable, almost child-like theme theme that sticks in the mind. ‘Lion-O’ shows off Maddren’s skills and imagination as a tone colourist on the kit; ‘Iverson Oddity’ has a chamber-jazz feel of spacious poise and equilibrium and features Cawley giving the tune’s Bad Plus namesake a run for his money with a thoughtful, beautifully structured solo. Gavita also plays in the jazz-rock outfit Fletch’s Brew, and this music has some of the precision and polished execution you’d associate with fusion, but the band eschew electric instruments and the results are as often subtle and nuanced as they are fiery or flashy. ’Pull Your Socks’ has the kind of jauntily melancholic mid-tempo swing and slightly off-kilter phrasing you’d expect from a mid-sixties Shorter album - very much part of the tradition, and a really lovely piece of group creativity.
Overall it’s a very impressive, highly accomplished package, from conception to performance, that shows off the musicality of these exciting young players to great advantage. The recording, by Curtis Schwartz, the UK’s answer to Manfred Eicher, is as crystal clear as you might expect, though perhaps you need to see them live to really connect with the emotional heart of the music that sometimes seems a little lost beneath the polished execution.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Froggy Records - Frog001
Freddie Gavita - trumpet and flugelhorn; Tom Cawley - piano; Calum Gourlay - bass; James Maddren - drums
Freddie Gavita is right at the centre of the UK jazz establishment; as a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and alumnus of NYJO, the John Dankworth Orchestra, and the BBC Big Band and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, he certainly qualifies as an Upcoming Talent, or even a Leading Light. He’s assembled a blue-ribbon trio to back him on his debut recording; all long-time collaborators, their empathy and shared musical vision is evident from the first number, the New Orleans-with-a-twist groove of ‘Strimming The Ham’ . Right from the start, Gavita’s tone and confident, clear delivery impress, as does the quality of his writing - ‘Turneround’ has a tricky structure but sounds natural and accessible, and provides Gourley with space to stretch out in an fluent, big-voiced solo statement.
‘Beloved’ shows that unlike many young jazz lions, Gavita isn’t averse to writing digestible melodies - ‘The Vow’ has a quirkily arranged but memorable, almost child-like theme theme that sticks in the mind. ‘Lion-O’ shows off Maddren’s skills and imagination as a tone colourist on the kit; ‘Iverson Oddity’ has a chamber-jazz feel of spacious poise and equilibrium and features Cawley giving the tune’s Bad Plus namesake a run for his money with a thoughtful, beautifully structured solo. Gavita also plays in the jazz-rock outfit Fletch’s Brew, and this music has some of the precision and polished execution you’d associate with fusion, but the band eschew electric instruments and the results are as often subtle and nuanced as they are fiery or flashy. ’Pull Your Socks’ has the kind of jauntily melancholic mid-tempo swing and slightly off-kilter phrasing you’d expect from a mid-sixties Shorter album - very much part of the tradition, and a really lovely piece of group creativity.
Overall it’s a very impressive, highly accomplished package, from conception to performance, that shows off the musicality of these exciting young players to great advantage. The recording, by Curtis Schwartz, the UK’s answer to Manfred Eicher, is as crystal clear as you might expect, though perhaps you need to see them live to really connect with the emotional heart of the music that sometimes seems a little lost beneath the polished execution.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
