Vicky Tilson – double bass; Dee Byrne -
alto sax; Stuart Fiddler – guitar; Reinis Axelsson - drums
(Review by Hugh C).
Vicky Tilson, a graduate of the Guildhall
post-grad jazz course, formed her first quartet in 2009 and released an album, Picture
from Jitske, in the same year. Tales
from a Forgotten City followed in 2010.
Mojo Risin’, recorded at the Cable Street
Records studios in East London where Reinis Axelsson worked as a sound engineer, enabled Tilson to record in analogue and “give the album a certain warmth that
digital does not”.
The album features three
re-recorded stand out tunes from the quartet's first two albums, together with
six new pieces exploring themes of depression, determination, immortality and
patience.
A total of just over 58
minutes.
Inspiration came from the words of Jim Morrison in The Doors song LA Woman - “Mr Mojo Risin’ ”. Tilson considers mojo risin’ to embody
“everything that is good about a person on the rise; improving, developing into
something spectacular like a phoenix rising from the ashes”. She felt that was how her life was going as
she composed the album, having recently been through her own personal annus
horribilis.
Only the Brave starts with a rhythmic groove by
the bass 'n drums soon joined by Byrne on alto and Fiddler on guitar. The track has a funky feel with short solo
passages from each. Black Dog takes
the mood down (literally) soon to morph into a kaleidoscopic whorl of
sound from Byrne's alto, to be followed by steady state in four, with some nice
solo work from Fiddler's guitar. Better
Late Than Never has a more uplifting feel with clever interplay between
alto and guitar over a driving tempo set by the rhythm section. Funk is back with Boho Chic featuring
nifty guitar work by Stuart Fiddler over Axelsson's drums. Headlovin' continues in the upbeat
tempo with stratospheric squeals from Byrne's alto interspersed with finger
pickin' good guitar work by Fiddler.
The Eternal Ending isn't - there's still three
more tracks to go! This features a
beautiful melodic line by Byrne on alto sax.
There’s no let-up in the rhythm though.
As one might expect when the band leader is a bassist there is extensive
bass solo work!
The pleasant thing to this
reviewer is how the solos are seamlessly integrated into the musical narrative. Pas du Tout has a more reflective feel
than the preceding tracks allowing for a more spread out appreciation of each
instrumentalist’s contribution to the whole.
The Crunch and The Kicker take us out with an almost drum
'n bass feel to the latter.
This is a crackling listen – buy
it! – available March 23 on the F-IRE
label. Catalogue number F-IRECD79. The Quartet have gigs coming up in the South
and in Northern Ireland. These guys
would sound great in the some of the more intimate venues here in the North
East – programmers take note!
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