Matt Ridley (bass); Jason Yarde (soprano); John Turville (piano); George Hart (drums).
(Press release)
As a leader, British
double bassist and composer Matt Ridley is a specifically
investigative musician whose artistry is derived from a desire to create a
strong, meaningful and structural purpose out of each initial glint of
inspiration.
Following up his
debut release on Whirlwind (Thymos, 2013), his new album Mettã –
a title and concept referencing themes of benevolence and goodwill – finds him
progressing his shared creativity again with his quartet of pianist John
Turville, drummer George Hart, and soprano saxophonist Jason
Yarde, who appears here in a fuller, more centrally melodic role. Captured
within a single day, this is a studio recording brimming with passion and
spontaneity.
The seven extended
originals of Mettā arise from an almost strategic,
compositional plan which inspires engaging extemporisation from all players.
Removed from any notion of a conventional head/solo approach, Ridley’s musical
landscape is one of focused rhythmic, chordal and improvisational invention
which can both challenge and delight – as in storytelling opener 'Music To
Drive Home To', whose steady, end-of-day journeying, led by Jason Yarde’s
colorful soprano dialogue and John Turville’s spangled ostinati, is punctuated
by unpredictable pauses and meanderings.
That spirit is key
to the magnetism of this album’s performances, its title track mysteriously
building Ridley’s desired sense of amity through the elevated, free expression
of his lucid bass soloing, George Hart’s fiery drum and cymbal elaborations,
and the soulful cries of Yarde. 'Lachrymose', too, overflows with sensitive
expression, Turville’s crystalline piano brightly tempering Yarde’s mournful
theme; and 'Strange Meeting’s' romanticism coruscates unexpectedly to crisp,
percussive slivers and bewitching soprano imaginings.
A contrasting tour
de force is the snappy, chaotic vigor of 'Mental Cases', as the quartet
relentlessly pushes the commotion with quick-fire syncopation, pulsating bass
momentum, modal pyrotechnics and piano pandemonium. Perpetuating Ridley’s
aspirations for engaging music-making, 'The Labyrinth' becalms a similar state
of panicky disorientation with elegant-yet-animated combined arco bass and
soprano phrases which teasingly and eventually prompt an infectiously wide
swing; and to close, classically-inflected 'Ebb and Flow' glints, jewel-like,
summing-up this band’s impressive diversity and ebullience.
Matt Ridley
describes his quartet’s offering as "considered, composed/improvised music
which might transport and entertain both listeners and players, creating and
involving all in an awareness of the present – that’s something I feel strongly
about.” The immersive experience of these fifty-or-so minutes suggests that
intention is excitingly on-track.
Press Highlights
"Contemporary
lyricism with an infectious percussive undercurrent from the eloquent bassist.”
Jazzwise
Jazzwise
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