Hannah Horton (tenor/baritone sax); Tim Lapthorn
(piano); Rob Statham (electric bass); Nic France (drums).
I must confess this one initially had me confused. Five of the eight tunes were on the saxophonist's previous album Inside Out reviewed HERE in 2021. That studio album had John Crawford on piano, replaced here by Tim Lapthorn, with drums and bass as previous.
I haven't got the earlier album to hand (I must devise a filing system)* to enable me to compare the studio versions with these live ones recorded in January 2023 at Pizza Express but, going by my review, they must have been excellent whilst these tracks are super-excellent and, being live, extended which is a big plus and, going by the applause, the audience agreed.
Whether blowing tenor or baritone Horton gets a big, walkin' the bar, sound that transcends boundaries with a technique that allows her fingers to trip the light fantastic over the keys of the saxes. From the bottom note of the bari to the top notes of the tenor and beyond they dazzle. Not just technique for technique's sake but meaningful phrases that add significantly to the material even, as she did on Inside Out, making a silk purse out of that musical sow's ear Feed the Birds.
Of the three tunes new to this album, Gil Evans' Las Vegas Tango has Horton beginning in an explorative, out of tempo, mood before a fiery bari burst which, after Lapthorn's piano solo, mellows out to a gentle and effective vanishing finale.
Chick Corea's Sea Journey features Statham, who, after the calm, sets Horton up for a turbulent tenor solo that does Chick proud.
The third number that doesn't appear on the studio session is her
composition Forget Me Not when, once again, she lets the world
know that when it comes to baritone sax playing Hannah Horton is very much a
name to reckon with.
*Now I'm going to look for Inside Out - one complements the
other. No I'm not! You can listen to some of it HERE. Lance
Release date for Live in Soho is April 29.
Feed the Birds; Surfing Thermals; Las Vegas Tango; Keep Walking; Escape; Sea Journey; Forget me Not; Horn Dance
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