HUW WARREN TRIO - Everything in Between
CAMJAZZ Records: CAMJ79422
Huw Warren (piano) Dudley Phillips (acoustic & electric bass) Zoot Warren (drums)
No recording date or location given
.
As a composer, pianist and educator, Huw Warren is clearly a man who knows his way around many musics and this is amply demonstrated in his latest, release in which he is joined in piano trio format by his son Zoot and ex `Perfect Houseplants` colleague Dudley Phillips. The playlist for this session includes originals by the leader and the bassist which reflect their command of jazz-fusion, world music and classical fundamentals but out of the eleven pieces performed it is Warren’s profound veneration of Brazilian modes that dominates the proceedings.
The set opens with a bright and breezy `Mouli Baby` which has echoes of Dave Grusin and Lyle Mays, particularly the former’s `Mountain Dance`, but more Morris than Hoe Down. This is followed by the title track, another original by the leader, which starts out with a sombre minor key prelude before picking up the pace with a driving ostinato supported by Phillips on electric bass, sustaining the rythmn and underscoring the melodic line both in unison and counterpoint. Warren completes his trio of original compostions with `First Love,Last Rites` an expansive and lyrical melody that is almost cinematic in its grandeur : after this we are flying down to Rio with a minor diversion into the Mediterranean for a Phillps’ composition celebrating the island of Lampedusa or perhaps more properly, given the increasing agitation as it unfolds from a simple rising and falling theme against sinister arco bass strokes, a reflection on the island’s role in the migrant tragedy.
The Brazilian pieces are sunnier with their combination of samba, carioca and choro forms, all penned by some of the greatest practioners of the art; names like Hermeto Pascoal, Egbert Gismonti, Chico Buarque and Edu Lobo. With elegant melodies and vivacious rhythms they lend themselves perfectly to jazz interpretation but equally ,with their dramatic flourishes they reveal a passionate interior borne of the intensity of expression found in the Portuguese song form, Fado, a close cousin to the blues. The trio capture all these nuances to perfection whilst adding a few of their own and with bass and drums in lock step synch with the piano, the vitality of the music is sustained throughout.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
CAMJAZZ Records: CAMJ79422
Huw Warren (piano) Dudley Phillips (acoustic & electric bass) Zoot Warren (drums)
No recording date or location given
.
As a composer, pianist and educator, Huw Warren is clearly a man who knows his way around many musics and this is amply demonstrated in his latest, release in which he is joined in piano trio format by his son Zoot and ex `Perfect Houseplants` colleague Dudley Phillips. The playlist for this session includes originals by the leader and the bassist which reflect their command of jazz-fusion, world music and classical fundamentals but out of the eleven pieces performed it is Warren’s profound veneration of Brazilian modes that dominates the proceedings.
The set opens with a bright and breezy `Mouli Baby` which has echoes of Dave Grusin and Lyle Mays, particularly the former’s `Mountain Dance`, but more Morris than Hoe Down. This is followed by the title track, another original by the leader, which starts out with a sombre minor key prelude before picking up the pace with a driving ostinato supported by Phillips on electric bass, sustaining the rythmn and underscoring the melodic line both in unison and counterpoint. Warren completes his trio of original compostions with `First Love,Last Rites` an expansive and lyrical melody that is almost cinematic in its grandeur : after this we are flying down to Rio with a minor diversion into the Mediterranean for a Phillps’ composition celebrating the island of Lampedusa or perhaps more properly, given the increasing agitation as it unfolds from a simple rising and falling theme against sinister arco bass strokes, a reflection on the island’s role in the migrant tragedy.
The Brazilian pieces are sunnier with their combination of samba, carioca and choro forms, all penned by some of the greatest practioners of the art; names like Hermeto Pascoal, Egbert Gismonti, Chico Buarque and Edu Lobo. With elegant melodies and vivacious rhythms they lend themselves perfectly to jazz interpretation but equally ,with their dramatic flourishes they reveal a passionate interior borne of the intensity of expression found in the Portuguese song form, Fado, a close cousin to the blues. The trio capture all these nuances to perfection whilst adding a few of their own and with bass and drums in lock step synch with the piano, the vitality of the music is sustained throughout.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
