MOSAIC - Subterranea
Edition Records
Ralph Wyld: vibraphone; James Copus: trumpet and flugelhorn; Sam Ripley: clarinet and bass clarinet; Cecilia Bignall: cello; Misha Mullov-Abbado: double bass; Scott Chapman: drums and percussions
The title track of this set won the 2015 Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition in the small band category. You can see why. This is a marvellous set of extremely compelling composition and excellent playing. Wyld’s compositions borrow from a variety of sources. In particular, there are echoes of the work of Steve Reich, particularly in the first two tracks. In track 1, ‘White Horses’, there are borrowings or influences from Reich’s ‘City Lights’.
A similar approach using short, simple, staccato themes repeated through the piece is also core to track 2, Kaira Konko (‘hill of peace’), although here there is a feeling of the marimba in Wyld’s lower register playing calling to mind the Gambian setting of the music. The soloists bring out the mood and structure of the pieces beautifully. Rapley plays an elegant solo on track 1, and this is complemented by Bignall’s marvellously evocative solo on track 2. Across the pieces, Wyld swings behind the rest of the players, working in the space between rhythm section and front-line, while Copus, on trumpet, brings a sense of the big band, swelling the sound and the mood of each piece.
Bookended by two ‘interludes’ (which are short explorations of sound textures by the players), track 4, Subterranea, raises the stakes yet higher. While the opening two tracks are masterful exercises in pulsing, Reichian compostion pushed into a jazz idiom, this track feels more mature and the balance of textures even better developed. The piece gradually builds to Wyld’s superbly controlled solo and then closes with the clarinet and trumpet gleefully repeating the head. There is a feeling that no notes are wasted here, that every sound played by each individual is exactly where it needs to be, and that the ebb and flow of the music is always carefully handled, even when it is allowed to reach its limits. Not only is this a CD showing some wonderful playing, it also contains some of the most accomplished composition that I have heard for a long time.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Edition Records
Ralph Wyld: vibraphone; James Copus: trumpet and flugelhorn; Sam Ripley: clarinet and bass clarinet; Cecilia Bignall: cello; Misha Mullov-Abbado: double bass; Scott Chapman: drums and percussions
The title track of this set won the 2015 Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition in the small band category. You can see why. This is a marvellous set of extremely compelling composition and excellent playing. Wyld’s compositions borrow from a variety of sources. In particular, there are echoes of the work of Steve Reich, particularly in the first two tracks. In track 1, ‘White Horses’, there are borrowings or influences from Reich’s ‘City Lights’.
A similar approach using short, simple, staccato themes repeated through the piece is also core to track 2, Kaira Konko (‘hill of peace’), although here there is a feeling of the marimba in Wyld’s lower register playing calling to mind the Gambian setting of the music. The soloists bring out the mood and structure of the pieces beautifully. Rapley plays an elegant solo on track 1, and this is complemented by Bignall’s marvellously evocative solo on track 2. Across the pieces, Wyld swings behind the rest of the players, working in the space between rhythm section and front-line, while Copus, on trumpet, brings a sense of the big band, swelling the sound and the mood of each piece.
Bookended by two ‘interludes’ (which are short explorations of sound textures by the players), track 4, Subterranea, raises the stakes yet higher. While the opening two tracks are masterful exercises in pulsing, Reichian compostion pushed into a jazz idiom, this track feels more mature and the balance of textures even better developed. The piece gradually builds to Wyld’s superbly controlled solo and then closes with the clarinet and trumpet gleefully repeating the head. There is a feeling that no notes are wasted here, that every sound played by each individual is exactly where it needs to be, and that the ebb and flow of the music is always carefully handled, even when it is allowed to reach its limits. Not only is this a CD showing some wonderful playing, it also contains some of the most accomplished composition that I have heard for a long time.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
