JOSEPHINE DAVIES - Satori
Whirlwind WR4700
Josephine Davies - tenor and soprano sax; Dave Whitford - bass; Paul Clarvis - drums
Josephine Davies is tenorist and composer with the London Jazz Orchestra - this fine album allows her to explore the space and freedom of a spare trio setting. Opener ‘Satori’ has a cool, detached poise to it’s serpertine melodic explorations - bassist Whitford sounds like a a ringer for Dave Holland in the sure-footed precision of his brief solo break. There’s a danger that the chordless trio format may allow the players such freedom as to meander out of the listener’s attention, but Davies seems determined to avoid this pitfall by retaining an accessible melodic sense in everything she does - ‘Something Small’ has a free-tempo rhythm but still never drifts too far from the harmonic roots implied by the chirpy melody.
Half the record was recorded in front of an audience, with no discernible change in sound quality, and these tunes display a little more intensity, notably on ‘The Tempest Prognosticator’. It’s interesting to compare this record with Tori Freestone’s ‘El Barranco’ which shares a similar aesthetic and approach to seamlessly combining written parts with group improvisation, and mixing the language of contemporary jazz with nods to earlier bop traditions. Any tenor trio will be measured against Sonny Rollin’s titanic achievements in the field, and there’s a sly nod in the title of ‘Paradoxy’ which is borne out by the subtle deconstruction of the master’s original melody before the tune goes on to generate some real blowing heat. The material is handle with supreme confidence by all three, there’s plenty of even-handed, empathetic conversation, and the rather dry nature of the format is tempered by Davies’ ready wit and the effortless groove of the rhythm section.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Whirlwind WR4700
Josephine Davies - tenor and soprano sax; Dave Whitford - bass; Paul Clarvis - drums
Josephine Davies is tenorist and composer with the London Jazz Orchestra - this fine album allows her to explore the space and freedom of a spare trio setting. Opener ‘Satori’ has a cool, detached poise to it’s serpertine melodic explorations - bassist Whitford sounds like a a ringer for Dave Holland in the sure-footed precision of his brief solo break. There’s a danger that the chordless trio format may allow the players such freedom as to meander out of the listener’s attention, but Davies seems determined to avoid this pitfall by retaining an accessible melodic sense in everything she does - ‘Something Small’ has a free-tempo rhythm but still never drifts too far from the harmonic roots implied by the chirpy melody.
Half the record was recorded in front of an audience, with no discernible change in sound quality, and these tunes display a little more intensity, notably on ‘The Tempest Prognosticator’. It’s interesting to compare this record with Tori Freestone’s ‘El Barranco’ which shares a similar aesthetic and approach to seamlessly combining written parts with group improvisation, and mixing the language of contemporary jazz with nods to earlier bop traditions. Any tenor trio will be measured against Sonny Rollin’s titanic achievements in the field, and there’s a sly nod in the title of ‘Paradoxy’ which is borne out by the subtle deconstruction of the master’s original melody before the tune goes on to generate some real blowing heat. The material is handle with supreme confidence by all three, there’s plenty of even-handed, empathetic conversation, and the rather dry nature of the format is tempered by Davies’ ready wit and the effortless groove of the rhythm section.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
