KIT DOWNES - Obsidian
ECM 578 2651
Kit Downes - Pipe Organs; Tom Challenger - Tenor Saxophone
Kit Downes has forged a reputation on the European jazz scene as a formidable improviser, composer and performer. His work with artists such as Stan Sulzmann and Troyka has showcased his diversity and capability whether he is playing contemporary jazz on acoustic piano or progressive rock on the Fender Rhodes. For his debut album with ECM Records, he has explored a different avenue. It is one which many would not describe as jazz but it is certainly based upon improvisation and the exploration of sound and texture.
Obsidian was recorded on three church organs in the south of England. Downes set off on a journey to explore the music and instruments that helped to shape his early musical development. The album opens with pulsating atmospherics, creating a floor for consonant melodic runs to dance across. A pure sound in both timbre and melody dominates, with an occasional hint at discordance. Listen carefully and you may even hear an element of the blues creep in to the harmonic palette. The slow movement of perfect intervals is a refreshing and peaceful start to the album.
Black Is The Colour is a traditional piece with a strong and anthemic minor key melody. Downes colours the piece with low pitch drones, interspersed with haunting answer phrases where the breathing of the organ gives the listener a glimpse of life. It is the the first sign of a waking beast. Rings Of Saturn begins with whistles that throb almost electronically. The high pitch clashing of intervals sounds like radio frequencies catapulting through space, like a hint of civilisation in an otherwise hostile environment. Harmonies move like a massive ship creeping through the darkness. It blows its horn into the vast nothingness as it lumbers along on its journey.
Single lines scuttle around the instrument frantically on Seeing Things. They playfully interweave and run around like baby mice teasing one another. The introduction of the saxophone on Modern Gods brings another texture to the album. A natural reverb cushions Tom Challenger’s sound and helps it to blend with the organ and become one unit. The dialogue between the instruments builds to a triumphant climax of harmony with a distinctly religious flavour.
Everything is very quiet and slow moving on The Bone Gambler. It is a careful investigation in sound and tonality. There is a definite rhythm, albeit an unobtrusive one. The bass pattern walks like tentative footsteps down a misty, unpopulated alleyway. It is in direct contrast with the following piece Flying Foxes where melodic motifs become increasingly frantic.
There is a Parisian flavour to Ruth’s Song For The Sea. The harmonies are subtle and functional. Melody lines are used economically, increasing their impact. They flow almost unnoticed across the sea of harmony underneath them. Last Leviathan begins with jazz influenced harmonic movement before settling on a drone that almost distorts as it increases in resonance. Downes colours the infrastructure with notes across the register of the instrument. These new notes enter the music like seeds sprouting from the soil in spring.
The Gift is very traditional in nature. Composed by Downes’ father, one could be fooled into believing the melody is an old English folk tune. It’s delivery on the organ feels like coming back to the instruments roots after exploring its auditory possibilities.
Obsidian is a fascinating exploration of an instrument little used in jazz. Most of us have had signifiant engagement with the church organ throughout our lives yet will not have heard it outside of its traditional setting in the church. To hear Downes investigate its orchestral and improvisational possibilities is like finding out a secret about a friend you’ve known all your life. A secret which you never knew but always suspected was a possibility.
Reviewed by John Marley
ECM 578 2651
Kit Downes - Pipe Organs; Tom Challenger - Tenor Saxophone
Kit Downes has forged a reputation on the European jazz scene as a formidable improviser, composer and performer. His work with artists such as Stan Sulzmann and Troyka has showcased his diversity and capability whether he is playing contemporary jazz on acoustic piano or progressive rock on the Fender Rhodes. For his debut album with ECM Records, he has explored a different avenue. It is one which many would not describe as jazz but it is certainly based upon improvisation and the exploration of sound and texture.
Obsidian was recorded on three church organs in the south of England. Downes set off on a journey to explore the music and instruments that helped to shape his early musical development. The album opens with pulsating atmospherics, creating a floor for consonant melodic runs to dance across. A pure sound in both timbre and melody dominates, with an occasional hint at discordance. Listen carefully and you may even hear an element of the blues creep in to the harmonic palette. The slow movement of perfect intervals is a refreshing and peaceful start to the album.
Black Is The Colour is a traditional piece with a strong and anthemic minor key melody. Downes colours the piece with low pitch drones, interspersed with haunting answer phrases where the breathing of the organ gives the listener a glimpse of life. It is the the first sign of a waking beast. Rings Of Saturn begins with whistles that throb almost electronically. The high pitch clashing of intervals sounds like radio frequencies catapulting through space, like a hint of civilisation in an otherwise hostile environment. Harmonies move like a massive ship creeping through the darkness. It blows its horn into the vast nothingness as it lumbers along on its journey.
Single lines scuttle around the instrument frantically on Seeing Things. They playfully interweave and run around like baby mice teasing one another. The introduction of the saxophone on Modern Gods brings another texture to the album. A natural reverb cushions Tom Challenger’s sound and helps it to blend with the organ and become one unit. The dialogue between the instruments builds to a triumphant climax of harmony with a distinctly religious flavour.
Everything is very quiet and slow moving on The Bone Gambler. It is a careful investigation in sound and tonality. There is a definite rhythm, albeit an unobtrusive one. The bass pattern walks like tentative footsteps down a misty, unpopulated alleyway. It is in direct contrast with the following piece Flying Foxes where melodic motifs become increasingly frantic.
There is a Parisian flavour to Ruth’s Song For The Sea. The harmonies are subtle and functional. Melody lines are used economically, increasing their impact. They flow almost unnoticed across the sea of harmony underneath them. Last Leviathan begins with jazz influenced harmonic movement before settling on a drone that almost distorts as it increases in resonance. Downes colours the infrastructure with notes across the register of the instrument. These new notes enter the music like seeds sprouting from the soil in spring.
The Gift is very traditional in nature. Composed by Downes’ father, one could be fooled into believing the melody is an old English folk tune. It’s delivery on the organ feels like coming back to the instruments roots after exploring its auditory possibilities.
Obsidian is a fascinating exploration of an instrument little used in jazz. Most of us have had signifiant engagement with the church organ throughout our lives yet will not have heard it outside of its traditional setting in the church. To hear Downes investigate its orchestral and improvisational possibilities is like finding out a secret about a friend you’ve known all your life. A secret which you never knew but always suspected was a possibility.
Reviewed by John Marley
