James Mainwaring (tenor & soprano saxophones,
effects), Matthew Bourne (Fender Rhodes), Michael Bardon (double bass) &
Joost Hendrickx (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Tipping Point is James Mainwaring’s new project.
Roller Trio’s reeds man is joined by fellow Leeds College of Music graduates
Mick Bardon and Joost Hendrickx and one of their tutors, pianist Matthew
Bourne. The CD is the second to be released on Lamplight Social Records, the
label set up by saxophonist Mainwaring.
Ten tracks – five of them improvisations – composed by
Mainwaring, The Earthworm’s Eye View
is a departure from the riotous abandon of
one-time Mercury Prize contenders Roller Trio. The presence of Bourne
playing Fender Rhodes is surely a significant factor in the playful group
improvisations. Rat Bucket, an
improvised piece constructed upon a three bar riff and twelve bar melody gets
to the heart of the music. Quiet, organic improv, Mainwaring’s tenor lines
working off Bourne’s dense, shifting
Fender Rhodes.
Bigsaw Jigsaw veers from the improvised to the notated,
flitting from one to the other in a split second, back and forth, piecing
together the composition at breakneck pace. Mick Bardon’s low-in-the-mix bass
playing rumbles assuredly throughout the album and Joost Hendrickx’s drumming
is in-the-pocket, variously encouraging and responding to effects thrown into
the mix. ‘Effects’ or ‘FX’ can be seen – and heard – as one of Mainwaring’s
instruments on The Earthworm’s View.
The eponymous track successfully incorporates a tenor/FX sound with Fender
Rhodes and the bristling energy of Bardon and Hendrickx.
Russell.
The Earthworm’s View on Lamplight
Social Records (LRSCD00 2) is released on October 9.
Russell.
Tipping Point play a jazz North East gig at the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle on Sunday 8th November in a double bill with the Long Lonesome Go.
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