Trish Clowes
(tenor sax), Ross
Stanley (piano/Hammond organ), Chris Montague (guitar) and James Maddren
(drums)
(Review by Chris Kilsby)
I wasn’t
sure what to expect, perhaps something carefully arranged, introverted, or even
academic, but on my first live hearing, this quartet turned out to be quite a
handful, lighting up Sage 2 on a miserable wet evening with a clever and
intense tapestry of original soundscapes.
Their music
is richly varied in feel, tempo and texture, often within the same song! This might lead to information overload, but
the show was secured by the visual spectacle and sheer variety, veering between
velvet and violence. Clowes has complete
mastery of the tenor, with skronking split notes interspersed by soothing balm.
Her lightning ability to transfer complex thought to action was equalled by the
other virtuoso players.
Some
of the sax lines recalled the Wayne Shorter of that era, but with blistering
guitar thrown in, and piano/B3 rather than Zawinul’s’ synths. Clowes had a relaxed and genuine rapport with
announcements between numbers, explaining the next one, I.F., was
dedicated to the baby boys of the pianist and guitarist, complete with sound
effects - not often you hear baby voices in Sage 2!
They
really got going on I can’t find my other brush, where James Maddren further
ramped up his already propulsive and abrupt variation of beat and feel, with a
concluding barrage to satisfy the heaviest listeners! The set closed with three very strong songs,
with tunes and structure: Abbott & Costello (named after aliens from
the sci-fi film Arrival, not the comedians!), Amber (a brand new
song dedicated to a refugee charity activist) and Free to Fall, complete
with an emotional vocal intro.
While
Clowes' sax and Maddren’s ever-shifting drums
provided the main continuity, there were outstanding guitar breaks of great
subtlety, speed and emotion from Chris Montague (a local boy apparently!),
recalling Bill Frisell and Charles Altura,
as well as a flexible and startling variety of piano and Hammond organ
from Ross Stanley, sometimes even doubling as a bass line.
Altogether
a revelatory and stimulating musical romp, awash with intelligence and energy,
with enough groove and smooth lines not to startle the horses! My previous visit to Sage 2 was for the
Ronnie Scott’s All Stars: while the technical mastery was similar, Clowes’ band
had an altogether different, more ambitious take on jazz, drawing from the past
for an exciting future.
Chris
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