Joy Ellis (piano, Fender Rhodes, vocals); Rob Luft
(guitar); Henrik Jensen (double bass); Ferg Ireland (electric bass); Adam
Osmiandski (drums); Helen Burnett (sound bowls on Daffodils)
(Review by Ann Alex)
Here is the first of three humdinger CDs received for review – I feel lucky. I've already seen Joy Ellis and her band
at the Globe and have heard some of these actual songs. All the songs were
written and produced by Ms Ellis and her lyrics are supplied on the CD insert,
a bonus we didn't get in the live performance, so I
was well primed to enjoy the album, and I certainly did.
The songs relate to a sense of place and reflections on
life in general, such as thoughts on the birth of a new baby as winter ends;
ideas about the family; an incident in Manchester; an atmospheric portrayal of
ice on a river. The music is influenced not only by jazz but also elements of
groove and dance music and her classical piano training.
The overall effect is freewheeling, varied, lively
music, perhaps best described by a rundown of track 10 Let Sleeping Dogs
Lie, which is one of the 2 instrumentals. First we hear a rippling
riffing piano with comments from Jensen on bass. The piano develops a strong
theme and the whole tune moves along the line, gentle drums crop up, piano gets
bolder with more variations, then ripples to the end. An inadequate description, I know, which doesn't do the music justice.
Our singer has a naturally musical tone, and the
lyrics are pleasingly descriptive, especially on tracks such as Ice On The
River, with its short lines suggesting coldness 'Ice on the river, frost on
the field, cold tide lapping, 'gainst the boards of the pier.' These lyrics are
accompanied by Rhodes-like tones which manage to sound cold. The other track
titles are: Daffodils; Pollyanna; Family Tree; Castles; Dwell; One Minute In
Manchester; Boy; Mick Coady Says Hello (Instrumental).
The presence of the outstanding guitarist Rob Luft adds to the overall sound as does the stellar rhythm section.
Joy Ellis graduated from the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama and has toured widely to such places as Ronnie Scott's, the Barbican,
The Cork Jazz Festival and No Black Tie Jazz Club in Kuala Lumpur. Her previous
album, Life On Land, (2017) was reviewed on BSH. She also performs
Brazilian music with the Samba Azul group.
A promotional tour featuring the album is planned but
if you wish to see her you'll have to go to the nearest places, Edinburgh on
February 23, or Leeds on March 14 next year. Better to ask Santa for the CD for Christmas, as it is released on
November 29 on Oti-O Records. Or you could
get along to the album launch at the Vortex, London on December 14.
Ann Alex
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