ILL CONSIDERED - Liminal Space
New Soil NS0013CD
Idris Rahman (saxophone); Liran Donin (bass); Emre Ramazanoglu (drums); Ahnanse (saxophone); Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone); Leon Brichard (bass); Theon Cross (tuba); Robin Hopcraft (trumpet); Sarathay Korwar (drums); Tamar Osborn (saxophone); Ollie Savill (percussion); Ralph Wylde (vibraphone)
Recorded at Soup Studios, 2021
UK-based group Ill Considered are nothing if not prolific, having released an astonishing nine albums between 2017 and 2019. After an understandable break over the last two years, they return here with 'Liminal Space,' breaking new ground with their first fully-produced studio album. The core line-up is Idris Rahman (saxophone), Liran Donin (bass) and Emre Ramazanoglu (drums). The album also features a notable selection of guest-artists, including Tamar Osborn (from modal-jazz ensemble Collocutor), Steam Down saxophonist Ahnanse, Sons of Kemet's Theon Cross and Indo-jazz drummer Sarathy Korwar. That's a lot of talent to play with, and the assembled artists clearly took inspiration from each other. Says Ramazanoglu; “The compositions are still heavily rooted in unadulterated improvisation, but we have taken the raw recordings and added complementary arrangements, as well as inviting incredible guests to perform on them.”
'First Light' opens the show, a slowly unwinding piece fuelled by double-time bass and some wonderfully balanced playing. Scattershot drumming gradually evolves through a soft swirl of horns. The main melody is incredibly affecting, a haunting and melancholic refrain which glitters and fades, winding in and about the rhythm-section's mesmerizing pulse. There's a remarkable amount of nuance here, as the track builds to a breathtaking whirlpool of sound. Listening to 'First Light,' you can't help but think that if this album had been released in the late 60s, it would justifiably be labelled a classic. That such work exists in 2021 is a blessing.
Follower, 'Sandstorm' is equally impressive, a delicate soundscape of calling brass and pattering percussion. Ill Considered's music breathes organically in a striking manner. Every note feels alive and when the pulse sets in, and set in it does, the thrill is visceral. Before you know it, the players have swept you up into a plunging river of frantic drums and darting horns. The bass pulls you under and pushes you on, as Ill Considered race and drive through some fantastical, dense jungle. The ride is intense and intensely rewarding, zooming past deep caverns, across canyons and down waterfalls.
This is an astonishingly cohesive album, yet it contains plenty of variety. 'Dust' loops and lopes with starry-eyed humour, lilting beautifully under a midnight sky. The gradually-evolving melody, or rather melodies, woven into this track, are as beguiling as they are mercurial. It's been a long time since I've heard a contemporary outfit play with such remarkable group empathy and adventurousness. That Ill Considered do so, and couple that with outstanding depth of emotion, is wondrous.
At the heart of it all lies the 'engine room,' a fabulous rhythm section which serves as capable anchor to the band's sonic flights of imagination, yet is in itself a living, breathing beast, lithe and muscular, alternately swinging, driving and restraining the beat. The phenomenal 'Dervish' is a stand-out amongst stand-outs, a swirling, awe-inspiring display of avant-garde playing which more than lives up to its title. Even this, however, feels wholly organic and accessible.
Ill Considered fuse the cerebral emotion of John Surman or Yusef Lateef with the restlessly questing nature of late-period John Coltrane or Ornette Coleman. Those are big names to throw out there, but Ill Considered more than live up to that billing. This is a call-back to the wild, sparkling music-quests of the hey-day of avant-garde jazz. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Chris Wheatley
New Soil NS0013CD
Idris Rahman (saxophone); Liran Donin (bass); Emre Ramazanoglu (drums); Ahnanse (saxophone); Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone); Leon Brichard (bass); Theon Cross (tuba); Robin Hopcraft (trumpet); Sarathay Korwar (drums); Tamar Osborn (saxophone); Ollie Savill (percussion); Ralph Wylde (vibraphone)
Recorded at Soup Studios, 2021
UK-based group Ill Considered are nothing if not prolific, having released an astonishing nine albums between 2017 and 2019. After an understandable break over the last two years, they return here with 'Liminal Space,' breaking new ground with their first fully-produced studio album. The core line-up is Idris Rahman (saxophone), Liran Donin (bass) and Emre Ramazanoglu (drums). The album also features a notable selection of guest-artists, including Tamar Osborn (from modal-jazz ensemble Collocutor), Steam Down saxophonist Ahnanse, Sons of Kemet's Theon Cross and Indo-jazz drummer Sarathy Korwar. That's a lot of talent to play with, and the assembled artists clearly took inspiration from each other. Says Ramazanoglu; “The compositions are still heavily rooted in unadulterated improvisation, but we have taken the raw recordings and added complementary arrangements, as well as inviting incredible guests to perform on them.”
'First Light' opens the show, a slowly unwinding piece fuelled by double-time bass and some wonderfully balanced playing. Scattershot drumming gradually evolves through a soft swirl of horns. The main melody is incredibly affecting, a haunting and melancholic refrain which glitters and fades, winding in and about the rhythm-section's mesmerizing pulse. There's a remarkable amount of nuance here, as the track builds to a breathtaking whirlpool of sound. Listening to 'First Light,' you can't help but think that if this album had been released in the late 60s, it would justifiably be labelled a classic. That such work exists in 2021 is a blessing.
Follower, 'Sandstorm' is equally impressive, a delicate soundscape of calling brass and pattering percussion. Ill Considered's music breathes organically in a striking manner. Every note feels alive and when the pulse sets in, and set in it does, the thrill is visceral. Before you know it, the players have swept you up into a plunging river of frantic drums and darting horns. The bass pulls you under and pushes you on, as Ill Considered race and drive through some fantastical, dense jungle. The ride is intense and intensely rewarding, zooming past deep caverns, across canyons and down waterfalls.
This is an astonishingly cohesive album, yet it contains plenty of variety. 'Dust' loops and lopes with starry-eyed humour, lilting beautifully under a midnight sky. The gradually-evolving melody, or rather melodies, woven into this track, are as beguiling as they are mercurial. It's been a long time since I've heard a contemporary outfit play with such remarkable group empathy and adventurousness. That Ill Considered do so, and couple that with outstanding depth of emotion, is wondrous.
At the heart of it all lies the 'engine room,' a fabulous rhythm section which serves as capable anchor to the band's sonic flights of imagination, yet is in itself a living, breathing beast, lithe and muscular, alternately swinging, driving and restraining the beat. The phenomenal 'Dervish' is a stand-out amongst stand-outs, a swirling, awe-inspiring display of avant-garde playing which more than lives up to its title. Even this, however, feels wholly organic and accessible.
Ill Considered fuse the cerebral emotion of John Surman or Yusef Lateef with the restlessly questing nature of late-period John Coltrane or Ornette Coleman. Those are big names to throw out there, but Ill Considered more than live up to that billing. This is a call-back to the wild, sparkling music-quests of the hey-day of avant-garde jazz. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Chris Wheatley
