SAM BARNETT - New York-London Suite
www.sambarnettsound.com
Sam Barnett - alto & tenor sax; Laurence Wilkins - trumpet; Timur Pak - piano; Michele Montolli - bass; Zoe Pascal - drums
Sam and cohort are representing the sound of the emerging London jazz scene; it’s a fun exercise to put the album on and listen all the way through before trying to guess the age of the players. If you can’t wait that long, we can reveal that the leader was just 16 at the time of recording, and even then he wasn’t the youngest player on the session. The level of playing matches the quality of the compositions, which are all by Sam, though ‘Maiden Flight’ has an acknowledged debt to Herbie Hancock as suggested by the title.
Throughout the writing displays an astonishing maturity and grasp of contemporary jazz forms. There’s a loose theme based around impressions of New York and Sam’s native London, with a stylistic variety that’s convincingly handled, whether it’s the poised ballad of ‘Liberty’ or the more rumbustious ‘Morning Shadowplay’, where teenage drum prodigy Zoe Pascal handles the shifts from swing to free-time to 12/8 with startling ease and aplomb for one so young. Barnett has a clear, slightly acidic tone on alto and his solos are chock full of exciting ideas beautifully executed - his solo on ‘London Meditations’ is really attention grabbing. Elsewhere Laurence Wilkins impresses with his creativity, control and accuracy, Montolli is solid and swinging, and melodically satisfying on his solo statement on ‘London Meditiation’ and pianist Pak has some excellent contributions throughout, notably on the same waltz-time tune. Overall the record tends more towards the reflective, but this band can really cook and it would have been good to hear more of them in a more extrovert mode.
Already the recipient of several tips by Jazzwise journalists in their ‘Shape Of Jazz To Come 2018’ column, we can expect to hear a great deal more from Mr Barnett.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
www.sambarnettsound.com
Sam Barnett - alto & tenor sax; Laurence Wilkins - trumpet; Timur Pak - piano; Michele Montolli - bass; Zoe Pascal - drums
Sam and cohort are representing the sound of the emerging London jazz scene; it’s a fun exercise to put the album on and listen all the way through before trying to guess the age of the players. If you can’t wait that long, we can reveal that the leader was just 16 at the time of recording, and even then he wasn’t the youngest player on the session. The level of playing matches the quality of the compositions, which are all by Sam, though ‘Maiden Flight’ has an acknowledged debt to Herbie Hancock as suggested by the title.
Throughout the writing displays an astonishing maturity and grasp of contemporary jazz forms. There’s a loose theme based around impressions of New York and Sam’s native London, with a stylistic variety that’s convincingly handled, whether it’s the poised ballad of ‘Liberty’ or the more rumbustious ‘Morning Shadowplay’, where teenage drum prodigy Zoe Pascal handles the shifts from swing to free-time to 12/8 with startling ease and aplomb for one so young. Barnett has a clear, slightly acidic tone on alto and his solos are chock full of exciting ideas beautifully executed - his solo on ‘London Meditations’ is really attention grabbing. Elsewhere Laurence Wilkins impresses with his creativity, control and accuracy, Montolli is solid and swinging, and melodically satisfying on his solo statement on ‘London Meditiation’ and pianist Pak has some excellent contributions throughout, notably on the same waltz-time tune. Overall the record tends more towards the reflective, but this band can really cook and it would have been good to hear more of them in a more extrovert mode.
Already the recipient of several tips by Jazzwise journalists in their ‘Shape Of Jazz To Come 2018’ column, we can expect to hear a great deal more from Mr Barnett.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
