This album is a bit of an oddity. I first heard about it when it was reviewed in the Observer by Dave Gelly. It seemed at odds with Mr Gelly’s usual fondness for excavated re-issues or new albums by people who couldn’t believe they were still alive. His enthusiasm for the album was palpable and contagious and I managed to find it on Bandcamp through jazzinbritain.co.uk.
Kenny Wheeler, of course,
is held in high regard, not least for his visits to the north east including
one memorable concert with his Angel Song quartet at Darlington Arts Centre. I
am sure that the full cast from the album (Bill Frisell, Dave Holland, Lee
Konitz and Wheeler) were there that night back in the late nineties (in the
days of subsidies for tours by jazz artists) and that the admission price for such
exalted company was ridiculously low.
Some
Gnu Ones is a short album, at under 28 minutes, but feel the
quality. The three pieces are all by Kenny Wheeler and were given to Chris
Laurence who had previously worked with Wheeler. One piece, C-Man, had appeared on the Wheeler album Kayak, but the other two, Piece
for Double Bass and Low Strings and Baroque
Piece, are released for the first time. Indeed ‘Piece…’ suggests that these were working titles and that other titles
would have come forward had they been recorded when they were written.
The first Piece is split over three movements and
sees a jazz trio of bass, drums and vibes augmented by a modified string quartet. The
violas open alongside a walking and dancing bass before a round where they play
off each other, less a call and response between the bass and the strings, than
a dance where one stays still and the other flows around them; subtle vibes are
heard beneath. This is very elegant, wistful music.
The second movement is
more rushed and urban, heightened by the entrance of France’s skittering
drumming. The strings are more ambitious reaching out with the higher and lower
elements following different lines. Then, as the strings fall away the trio
plays alone, Ricotti soloing on vibes.
The third movement is
more contemplative and mournful with Laurence dominant over all the strings,
repeating some of the motifs from the first movement with Ricotti’s tolling
notes in the background.
C-Man
opens
with sad arco playing from Laurence but France’s wandering drum snaps and the
guitar and vibes raise the tempo, with both Ricotti and Parricelli contributing
long elegant runs, probing and questioning before Laurence solos over splashes
of cymbal and more delicate playing from France.
After the absence of
brass on what has come before Tom Walsh’s flugelhorn on the closer, Baroque Piece, comes as a surprise. He
is in the unenviable position of having to play the Kenny Wheeler role and he
evokes much of Wheeler’s warm tone. After a short opening of horn over bowed
bass Walsh solos in grand style over just guitar and bass. Parricelli’s guitar
carries forward the warmth and the optimism from Walsh’s solo. Strings and
drums are all missing from this track; Walsh soars to fill the space instead.
This album is an elegant
distraction from the rush of daily life; short but perfectly formed.
Kenny
Wheeler: Some Gnu Ones is available through Bandcamp HERE
Dave Sayer
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