GREG FOAT - Symphonie Pacifique
Strut Strut212CD
Greg Foat (piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesisers, vibraphone, tubular bells); Art Themen (tenor sax, soprano sax); Rob Mach (tenor sax); Dave Bitelli (tenor sax, baritone sax); Trevor Walker (trumpet, fluegelhorn); Warren Hampshire (guitar, percussion); Philip Achille (double bass, electric bass); Moses Boyd (drums tracks 1-9); Clark Tracey (drums tracks 10-16); Eric Young (congas, percussion); Heather Wrighton (harp); Thomas Frank (pedal steel guitar); Kana Kawashima (violin); Felix Tanner (viola); Niamh Molloy, Jessica Kerr (cello); Elina Ryd, Hannah Tolf, Erik Dahl, Pablo Copa (choir)
Recorded Fish Factory, London, 19-22 August 2019
Epic is the word that first comes to mind with this record, from its grandiose album title to a line-up that includes a choir, string section and a jazz band featuring a trio of sax players. Greg Foat is a British jazz keyboardist/composer, who has recorded a handful of albums since his 2011 debut album Dark is The Sun. He has also made a name for himself as a library music composer. The latter experience has clearly influenced this album, which is both atmospheric and cinematic. There are 16 tracks (most composed by Foat), although a handful of these are short musical interludes, mainly played by the string section. The first half of the album features the young jazz drummer Moses Boyd, while seasoned pro Clark Tracey plays drums on the second half.
The album opens with Prelude, a 30-second string piece which leads into the title track. This starts with a heavy backbeat with drums and clattering conga before Foat joins in on piano, playing a series of gorgeous arpeggios. It sounds like a song from a film soundtrack and is a cracking start to an album that offers many surprises. The horn section features prominently on many tracks, including the edgy-sounding Anticipation, with Art Themen’s wailing soprano sax and Dave Bitelli’s growling baritone sax playing over an electronic soundscape composed of a reverberating keyboard riff and swirling synth lines.
Yonaguni opens with a funky piano vamp and a conga drum pattern which reminds me of Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues, before the song opens out with sweeping synths and a driving beat. Island Life lives up its title, with its bossa nova-style rhythm, clanking percussion and delicate piano flourishes. It also includes a fine double bass solo by Philip Achille. Nikinakinu would sit well on a Brecker Brothers album, with Foat’s funky electric piano chords and Moses Boyd’s heavy beat. Trevor Walker plays a blistering trumpet solo and is immediately followed by stirring solos on tenor and then baritone sax – it’s one of the album’s many highlights.
Man versus Machine is appositely titled, with a repetitive electronic keyboard riff and drum pattern that sounds stiff and mechanical. In contrast, the eight-and-a-half minute long After The Storm is a beautiful ballad that begins with the sound of thunder and crashing waves. Foat’s graceful piano is accompanied by a simple drum beat that sounds like a funeral march. Around the midway point, a string section joins in, evoking in this listener a feeling of deep sorrow. In the final three minutes, all the instruments drop out, apart from the strings, which slowly, gracefully and tenderly, bring the piece to its conclusion. The longest musical interlude, Mediation On A Pedal Guitar is just under two minutes in length and was composed by Thomas Frank, who also performs the solo piece. It’s a mysterious sounding tune with notes that wail and bend.
Lament for Lamont is dedicated to the Scottish tenor saxophonist Duncan Lamont, who died in 2019, hours after playing a sold-out gig at the 606 Club in London. Lamont is one of those musicians who should be more widely known, and had played with many great artists including, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney and Sammy Davis Jr, to name but a few. This ballad, featuring lots of delicate saxophone playing (at times, it sounds as if the saxophonist is whispering into his instrument), is a fitting tribute to a musician who was set to play on the sessions for this album.
The mid-tempo Pointe Vénus is a pleasant enough tune, but strays a little too close to MOR territory for my taste, with its cocktail lounge piano and Herb Alpert-style trumpet. Mother’s Love features silky sax lines, driven along by the airy drumming of Clark Tracey. The final track, Epilogue: Three Tenors features – you guessed it –three tenor sax players: Art Themen, Rob Mach and Dave Bitelli, who harmonize beautifully on this short atmospheric piece.
For some, this might be an album that pushes the boundaries of what we call jazz, but if you’re prepared to approach this music with open ears and an open mind, you’re likely to be surprised and delighted by what you hear. I certainly was.
Reviewed by George Cole
Strut Strut212CD
Greg Foat (piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesisers, vibraphone, tubular bells); Art Themen (tenor sax, soprano sax); Rob Mach (tenor sax); Dave Bitelli (tenor sax, baritone sax); Trevor Walker (trumpet, fluegelhorn); Warren Hampshire (guitar, percussion); Philip Achille (double bass, electric bass); Moses Boyd (drums tracks 1-9); Clark Tracey (drums tracks 10-16); Eric Young (congas, percussion); Heather Wrighton (harp); Thomas Frank (pedal steel guitar); Kana Kawashima (violin); Felix Tanner (viola); Niamh Molloy, Jessica Kerr (cello); Elina Ryd, Hannah Tolf, Erik Dahl, Pablo Copa (choir)
Recorded Fish Factory, London, 19-22 August 2019
Epic is the word that first comes to mind with this record, from its grandiose album title to a line-up that includes a choir, string section and a jazz band featuring a trio of sax players. Greg Foat is a British jazz keyboardist/composer, who has recorded a handful of albums since his 2011 debut album Dark is The Sun. He has also made a name for himself as a library music composer. The latter experience has clearly influenced this album, which is both atmospheric and cinematic. There are 16 tracks (most composed by Foat), although a handful of these are short musical interludes, mainly played by the string section. The first half of the album features the young jazz drummer Moses Boyd, while seasoned pro Clark Tracey plays drums on the second half.
The album opens with Prelude, a 30-second string piece which leads into the title track. This starts with a heavy backbeat with drums and clattering conga before Foat joins in on piano, playing a series of gorgeous arpeggios. It sounds like a song from a film soundtrack and is a cracking start to an album that offers many surprises. The horn section features prominently on many tracks, including the edgy-sounding Anticipation, with Art Themen’s wailing soprano sax and Dave Bitelli’s growling baritone sax playing over an electronic soundscape composed of a reverberating keyboard riff and swirling synth lines.
Yonaguni opens with a funky piano vamp and a conga drum pattern which reminds me of Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues, before the song opens out with sweeping synths and a driving beat. Island Life lives up its title, with its bossa nova-style rhythm, clanking percussion and delicate piano flourishes. It also includes a fine double bass solo by Philip Achille. Nikinakinu would sit well on a Brecker Brothers album, with Foat’s funky electric piano chords and Moses Boyd’s heavy beat. Trevor Walker plays a blistering trumpet solo and is immediately followed by stirring solos on tenor and then baritone sax – it’s one of the album’s many highlights.
Man versus Machine is appositely titled, with a repetitive electronic keyboard riff and drum pattern that sounds stiff and mechanical. In contrast, the eight-and-a-half minute long After The Storm is a beautiful ballad that begins with the sound of thunder and crashing waves. Foat’s graceful piano is accompanied by a simple drum beat that sounds like a funeral march. Around the midway point, a string section joins in, evoking in this listener a feeling of deep sorrow. In the final three minutes, all the instruments drop out, apart from the strings, which slowly, gracefully and tenderly, bring the piece to its conclusion. The longest musical interlude, Mediation On A Pedal Guitar is just under two minutes in length and was composed by Thomas Frank, who also performs the solo piece. It’s a mysterious sounding tune with notes that wail and bend.
Lament for Lamont is dedicated to the Scottish tenor saxophonist Duncan Lamont, who died in 2019, hours after playing a sold-out gig at the 606 Club in London. Lamont is one of those musicians who should be more widely known, and had played with many great artists including, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney and Sammy Davis Jr, to name but a few. This ballad, featuring lots of delicate saxophone playing (at times, it sounds as if the saxophonist is whispering into his instrument), is a fitting tribute to a musician who was set to play on the sessions for this album.
The mid-tempo Pointe Vénus is a pleasant enough tune, but strays a little too close to MOR territory for my taste, with its cocktail lounge piano and Herb Alpert-style trumpet. Mother’s Love features silky sax lines, driven along by the airy drumming of Clark Tracey. The final track, Epilogue: Three Tenors features – you guessed it –three tenor sax players: Art Themen, Rob Mach and Dave Bitelli, who harmonize beautifully on this short atmospheric piece.
For some, this might be an album that pushes the boundaries of what we call jazz, but if you’re prepared to approach this music with open ears and an open mind, you’re likely to be surprised and delighted by what you hear. I certainly was.
Reviewed by George Cole
