Andy
Sheppard – tenor and soprano saxophones; Eivind Aarset – guitar, electronics;
Michel Benita – double bass; Sebastian Rochford – drums.
(Review by Hugh)
This is Andy Sheppard's third
album released on ECM. The quartet is
formed by the addition of Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset to the personnel
comprising Trio Libero - whose output is encapsulated on the previous
ECM release by Sheppard, which takes the name of the trio as its title. The trio started out as an improvising trio,
but in the new quartet format Sheppard wanted to “move things in a new
direction with the addition of harmony and subtle grooves”.
The current album title “Surrounded
by Sea” evokes some of the unique characteristics of those who inhabit an
island nation. According to Sheppard,
the sea in this case is mostly calm, but squalls and storms can arise in a
moment.
On this album the lyrical
saxophone playing of Andy Sheppard floats gently on a raft of sound
structurally underpinned by Seb Rochford's subtle drumming mixed with Michel
Benita's sensitive bass playing and Eivind Aarset's layered guitar and
electronics.
The album has eleven tracks in
all. These are arranged as eight
separate tracks interspersed by the three separate parts of Aoidh, Na Dean
Cadal Idir. This piece is named
after a Gaelic traditional song and translates as Aoidh, Don't Sleep At All.
Sheppard learned the song from Hebridean folk singer Julie Fowlis and the
instrumental music was written by all four quartet members to dress her a
capella vocal rendition of the song.
The majority of the rest of the
material is of Sheppard's composition, sometimes in conjunction with another
member of the quartet. The second track,
I Want to Vanish is an Elvis Costello composition and Rochford and
Benita have contributed one track each.
It is difficult to single out any particular track for comment as the
album has a definite flow from one end to the other. The overall atmosphere is calm with the
minimum of swell now and then. The
squalls and storms remain over the horizon throughout.
The signature saxophone style of
Andy Sheppard is evident across all the tracks and is beautifully blended with
the contributions of the other three quartet members. This is a class act and unhesitatingly
recommended by this reviewer!
Hugh.
Surrounded
by Sea was released by ECM in the UK on April 13 (catalogue number 471 4273)
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