TRISH CLOWES – Pocket Compass
Basho Records SRCD 45-2
Trish Clowes (tenor & soprano saxophone); Gwilym Simcock (piano); Chris Montague (electric guitar); Calum Gourley (double bass); James Maddren (drums)
Featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra
Recorded 22nd January 2014 - Small Band recorded March 3rd and 4th 2014
With this her third album, Trish Clowes is now standing out from the crowd and proving once and for all that she is one of the most original saxophonists and composers on the UK scene, and ready to take her place on the international stage.
Pocket Compass should be regarded as a major statement from the 30 year old Clowes in an all encompassing set of original compositions that bring together disparate styles and influences to create a unified whole. Her use of the BBC Concert Orchestra for three pieces, ‘Radiation’, ‘Balloon’ and ‘Chorale’, placed strategically at the beginning, middle and end of the album should not be perceived as distinct from the compositions that feature her small group Tangent, as all eight cuts feed into and off one another seamlessly.
As an instrumentalist she makes full use of both tenor and soprano saxophones, and her tone and control of multiphonics on both horns is quite remarkable. The musicianship on ‘Pfeiffer and the Whales’ is staggering, and second only to the needs of the composition; this is also true of her soprano playing on the quirky and ambiguous ‘Wayne’s Waltz’ dedicated to Wayne Shorter. ‘Symphony in Yellow’ takes its cue from the poem by Oscar Wilde with Clowes’s tenor saxophone solo a model of invention. Not to be outdone, Gwilym Simcock and guitarist, Chris Montague also acquit themselves with outstanding contributions in their own solos.
In her writing Trish is careful not to overplay her hand, and there is nothing superfluous or flabby about the arrangements. In writing for the BBC Concert orchestra she has not confined herself in to arranging the music for classical musicians, but uses the orchestra to her own ends in making this large aggregation conform to her musical will, at times utilising the ensemble as one would a conventional big band.
This is as good an album as any that I’ve heard in a long time, and whilst a late entry due to its November release date undoubtedly a strong contender for Album of the Year.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Basho Records SRCD 45-2
Trish Clowes (tenor & soprano saxophone); Gwilym Simcock (piano); Chris Montague (electric guitar); Calum Gourley (double bass); James Maddren (drums)
Featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra
Recorded 22nd January 2014 - Small Band recorded March 3rd and 4th 2014
With this her third album, Trish Clowes is now standing out from the crowd and proving once and for all that she is one of the most original saxophonists and composers on the UK scene, and ready to take her place on the international stage.
Pocket Compass should be regarded as a major statement from the 30 year old Clowes in an all encompassing set of original compositions that bring together disparate styles and influences to create a unified whole. Her use of the BBC Concert Orchestra for three pieces, ‘Radiation’, ‘Balloon’ and ‘Chorale’, placed strategically at the beginning, middle and end of the album should not be perceived as distinct from the compositions that feature her small group Tangent, as all eight cuts feed into and off one another seamlessly.
As an instrumentalist she makes full use of both tenor and soprano saxophones, and her tone and control of multiphonics on both horns is quite remarkable. The musicianship on ‘Pfeiffer and the Whales’ is staggering, and second only to the needs of the composition; this is also true of her soprano playing on the quirky and ambiguous ‘Wayne’s Waltz’ dedicated to Wayne Shorter. ‘Symphony in Yellow’ takes its cue from the poem by Oscar Wilde with Clowes’s tenor saxophone solo a model of invention. Not to be outdone, Gwilym Simcock and guitarist, Chris Montague also acquit themselves with outstanding contributions in their own solos.
In her writing Trish is careful not to overplay her hand, and there is nothing superfluous or flabby about the arrangements. In writing for the BBC Concert orchestra she has not confined herself in to arranging the music for classical musicians, but uses the orchestra to her own ends in making this large aggregation conform to her musical will, at times utilising the ensemble as one would a conventional big band.
This is as good an album as any that I’ve heard in a long time, and whilst a late entry due to its November release date undoubtedly a strong contender for Album of the Year.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
