Jonathan Chung (tenor sax, effects); James Kitchman (electric
guitar, effects); Corrie Dick (drums).
This
is another of those ‘Wot no bass player?’ groups that seem to be popping up all
over at the moment. Jonathan Chung is the lead man in this outfit but Corrie
Dick has a record of playing with all the right people in recent years and
James Kitchman was a solid addition to the Rob Luft and Elina Duni performance
I saw a few months back. He’s also a local lad, hailing from the wilds of
Hexham.*
And so, here they are, back for Glasshopper’s second album after 2020’s Fortune Rules. Immediately, what I like about I’m Not Telling You Anything is that it’s just the right amount of weird, just the right amount of fun, just the right amount of loud. It’s the Baby Bear’s album of the year in that, just at the moment, it’s just right.
It
opens with the high impact A New Thing. A
bubbling dance groove is the foundation for some swingeing guitar chops and
honking sax before it heads into a spiral of close company soloing as tightly
woven as you’re ever likely to encounter before it chugs to a more stately, and
increasingly delicate, whispering close. That closing relaxed vibe flows on
into Major Hit wherein all the action
is in Chung’s fore fronted horn while steady subdued strumming from Kitchman
and Corrie Dick’s metronomic rim shots provide regular backing. Everyone steps
up to the front line for When You Find,
a fine tutorial in how to play nicely with others. Intricate knotty lines from
Kitchman and Chung wind around each other with, at first, only occasional notes
escaping the net. This builds into a more prominent solo by Chung which builds
and builds before a fade, only to rebuild as an ensemble work.
Take Out the Sun is
a complete change of direction. Even without the title, it makes you think of
weather. Guitar glissandos wave over wind driven rolling drums played with
mallets before Chung brings in something more stormy. It is loose, unstructured
and melancholic by comparison with the earlier tunes and takes advantage of the
space created by the absence of a bass player. Grunge, as you might imagine takes us out of the low mood. It’s
probably too clean for what the title suggests, for example the drums thud when
they should really crack, but it captures the loud/quiet ethos well and for a
trio, there’s a lot of music going on, mainly provided by Kitchman, whose
support to Chung’s solo, when it arrives is very close, driving him on and up.
Music Stands is
mellow and easy rolling, almost an end of the evening last turn around the
floor with a country tinge which Chung punches a solo through before an equally
vociferous passage of close quarters work with Kitchman with Dick thumping asome
punctuation into the mix. Closer, I Go to
Bed at 10, is a full blooded restatement of the best that has gone before
with guitarist and sax driving on over some percussive fury from Corrie Dick.
Whilst the foundation may be heavy rock and roll the front line is pure jazz
though Kitchman charges into rock mode between his solos to provide a level of
energy that demands more and more of the same from Chung. I had to put this one
straight back on when it finished, but louder.
I’m Not Telling You Anything is released on June 28 and is available on all formats from the Glasshopper Bandcamp Page along with their other releases to date. Dave Sayer
*Incidentally,
James is described in the notes accompanying the album as ‘hailing from the
forsaken realm of Northumberland.’ I can only assume that these notes were
written by somebody in that overpriced shit hole on the Thames.
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