Walter Smith III
(tenor sax); Matthew Stevens (guitar); Dave Holland (bass) Kris Davis (piano);
Terry Lynne Carrington (drums)
I remember seeing Walter Smith III in a group he led in the Northern Rock Hall at Sage Gateshead; Michael Janisch, bassist and Whirlwind label founder, was also in the group. They scorched the varnish off the walls, but Smith made the novice’s mistake of not bring any CDs with him so I bought Banned in London by the pianist Aruan Ortiz instead and that turned out to be a real gem.
But I digress. In Common III is the third in a series
that has seen Smith and Stevens meet up with a different rhythm section for
each album. This time round a couple of jazz legends in Holland and Carrington
have joined in along with Kris Davis who I hadn’t heard of before but who is,
on this performance, no slouch whatsoever.
This isn’t a leaders plus rhythm
section set up; Davis, Holland and Carrington are part of the group and were,
clearly, expected to bring their own ideas and personalities to the session.
Their contributions are significant and the album would have been a different,
less interesting, beast without them.
There are 15 tracks on the album,
varying in length between 1:40 and 5:30 so you get a lot of what are really
sketches. Some are fully fledged tunes whilst others are pieces of electronica
that pulse, throb and yowl distractingly but, on occasion serve as an
introduction to the next number. I can’t find the composer’s credits so I’m not
sure of who is responsible for what.
We get a short intro to the album
with Shine, a duet of just Smith and
Stephens before track 2, Loping, does
what it says on the tin. Carrington’s drumming and extended cymbal splashes creates
the space for the others. By way of contrast, Oliver is altogether more knotty and complex with free pianism,
electric moans, stabbing sax and wedges of discordant guitar. Hornets gives Davis the space to dance
along the line between free playing and bebop and she shows all her strengths
in a series of runs, either solo or in duet with Stephens. Again, you notice
that it’s what Carrington and Holland aren’t playing, it’s the space, (man)!
The brevity of Hornets is one of the
album’s major frustrations. Maybe live it is allowed to realise its potential.
Orange Crush has long mournful notes from Smith over frantic piano
exercises from Davis. There’s an industrial undertone to her playing, she’s
like Charlie Chaplin on the factory floor in Modern Times. After, which follows, is more pastoral, languid and
hopeful. It’s spacious and romantic and could be the last dance of the evening.
Lite is more electronica but For
Some Time is more human. It’s dominated by the dance between hand drums and
piano with the others chipping in round the side. Holland holds it all
together.
Variable is another piece of nominative determinism. Variable it
is! It’s free with Davis to the fore. Smith has said that “it was written to be
played in many tempos, meters and approaches but was not discussed prior to
recording it”.
The last two tracks, Familiar and Miserere are in my comfort zone. The former is a melodic piece of
bop, with wonderful, wooden drumming from Carrington and the closer is
delicate, resigned, if not exhausted. They should play this last in any concert
and the last closing note would release all the tension in the audience to, I
imagine, thunderous applause.
It’s a teasing, frustrating album
in many ways but it has clear strengths and it’s riveting in parts. Even the
electronic pieces serve as contrasts to the others and the freer and more
mainstream pieces need them as part of the whole. You’d miss them if they
weren’t there. Dave Sayer
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