PETER LEE - The Velvet Rage
Ubuntu Music - UBU0011
Peter Lee - piano, rhodes, synth; Josh Arcoleo - tenor sax; Alex Munk - guitar; Huw Foster - bass; Ali Thynne - drums
The Amika Strings
Laura Senior - violin; Rich Jones - violin 2; Lucy Nolan - viola; Peggy Nolan - cello; Simmy Singh - violin
Cardiff-born, Royal Academy trained pianist Lee has a musical ear attuned to a variety of different sounds. He graduated with distinction from the RA’s Jazz course, but has toured around the world with pop artists Gabrielle Aplin, Maverick Sabre and Tom Walker, and provided keys for crossover classical sensations Il Divo. This is his debut album, and the diversity of influences is apparent from the opening bars of ‘Writer’s Block’ - the descending diminished chords of the piano introduction, evoking Debussy, give way to a churning jazz-rock riff, then a melodic pop-fusion interlude overlaid with swooping strings, before Lee sets of on a confident solo exploration with hints of Corea’s rhythmic assurance. Guitarist Alex Munk has explored similar jazz-rock territory with his own Flying Machine project, and makes the ideal partner; Ali Thynne on drums contributes a suitably pyrotechnic interlude; and Josh Arcoleo continues to impress with his sophistication and versatility, more than holding his own amidst the bombast.
Lee’s writing is complex and intricate, with tightly plotted rhythm arrangements, but he’s not afraid to let the band rock out over a driving groove, or to pull the band out for a pensive, introverted solo piano and strings exploration as on the evocative title tune. Munk contributes scalding fusion solos throughout, notably on ‘Edinburgh’ , where he combines fluid, Holdsworth style altered patterns with bluesy inflections; Arcoleo’s work ties the band back into the jazz tradition, and Lee treads a path between those styles and his audible love of the classical language to impressive effect. There are occasional reflective interludes - rhodes-heavy ‘The Mirror Stage’ has Huw Foster channelling the Headhunter’s Paul Jackson to superb effect, with spacey rhodes over some more laid-back beats, and ‘Dependency’ opens with Lee’s writing for string quartet - but they are set between a plethora of headlong unison charges, ingenious metrical twists and muscular soloing and the overall impression is rather hectic and showy in the best jazz-fusion tradition, which can be experienced as either exhilarating or exhausting depending upon one’s personal taste. What cannot be denied is the commitment and talent on display, both from the performers and from Lee himself; the title is drawn from a book by Alan Downs about a personal journey towards self-acceptance, and this music is drawn from a deep personal wellspring of experience that makes it never less than affecting.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Ubuntu Music - UBU0011
Peter Lee - piano, rhodes, synth; Josh Arcoleo - tenor sax; Alex Munk - guitar; Huw Foster - bass; Ali Thynne - drums
The Amika Strings
Laura Senior - violin; Rich Jones - violin 2; Lucy Nolan - viola; Peggy Nolan - cello; Simmy Singh - violin
Cardiff-born, Royal Academy trained pianist Lee has a musical ear attuned to a variety of different sounds. He graduated with distinction from the RA’s Jazz course, but has toured around the world with pop artists Gabrielle Aplin, Maverick Sabre and Tom Walker, and provided keys for crossover classical sensations Il Divo. This is his debut album, and the diversity of influences is apparent from the opening bars of ‘Writer’s Block’ - the descending diminished chords of the piano introduction, evoking Debussy, give way to a churning jazz-rock riff, then a melodic pop-fusion interlude overlaid with swooping strings, before Lee sets of on a confident solo exploration with hints of Corea’s rhythmic assurance. Guitarist Alex Munk has explored similar jazz-rock territory with his own Flying Machine project, and makes the ideal partner; Ali Thynne on drums contributes a suitably pyrotechnic interlude; and Josh Arcoleo continues to impress with his sophistication and versatility, more than holding his own amidst the bombast.
Lee’s writing is complex and intricate, with tightly plotted rhythm arrangements, but he’s not afraid to let the band rock out over a driving groove, or to pull the band out for a pensive, introverted solo piano and strings exploration as on the evocative title tune. Munk contributes scalding fusion solos throughout, notably on ‘Edinburgh’ , where he combines fluid, Holdsworth style altered patterns with bluesy inflections; Arcoleo’s work ties the band back into the jazz tradition, and Lee treads a path between those styles and his audible love of the classical language to impressive effect. There are occasional reflective interludes - rhodes-heavy ‘The Mirror Stage’ has Huw Foster channelling the Headhunter’s Paul Jackson to superb effect, with spacey rhodes over some more laid-back beats, and ‘Dependency’ opens with Lee’s writing for string quartet - but they are set between a plethora of headlong unison charges, ingenious metrical twists and muscular soloing and the overall impression is rather hectic and showy in the best jazz-fusion tradition, which can be experienced as either exhilarating or exhausting depending upon one’s personal taste. What cannot be denied is the commitment and talent on display, both from the performers and from Lee himself; the title is drawn from a book by Alan Downs about a personal journey towards self-acceptance, and this music is drawn from a deep personal wellspring of experience that makes it never less than affecting.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
