Mells Bells (Whirlwind Recordings)
Sam Crockatt Quartet
Released January 29, 2016
The Telegraph Best Jazz Albums of 2016
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British tenorist Sam Crockatt brings the energy and immediacy of his quartet to Whirlwind on Mells Bells, an album of peppy live-feel studio performances which illuminate and elaborate on the leader’s eight original compositions. Crockatt (a member of London-based Loop Collective) collaborates with many of today’s increasingly successful contemporary jazz and improvisational artists, particularly revelling in the focus of this empathetic working quartet with colleagues Kit Downes (piano), Oli Hayhurst (double bass) and James Maddren (drums). Recorded over a single day off the back of a couple of successful concerts, newly-birthed concepts merge with older themes-in-waiting to create a distinct and exciting spontaneity.
Title track Mells Bells offers a glimpse into the saxophonist’s creative process. The initially cacophonic and then swirling beauty of church bell peals, witnessed from a vantage point above his Somerset home village, provided the inspiration for an outing which highlights this ensemble’s creative vibrancy and free spirit; clanging and chiming with both celebratory and audacious ebullience, it loudly proclaims the heartiness of the current British jazz scene.
Sam Crockatt’s robust and characterful tenor voice – stemming from an appreciation of the sound worlds of (amongst others) Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and Lee Konitz – is authoritative yet synergetic, his writing frequently inviting the freedom for musical diversions to flourish. Brightly swinging opener “Canon” illustrates well the openness of the improvisational landscape, with Crockatt readily passing the baton to pianist Downes who mesmerises with a chameleonic, broad-sweeping presence across the keyboard; yet the whole is upheld by the saxophonist’s solid, memorable melodic hook and the rhythmic assuredness of Hayhurst and Maddren.
That same confidence pervades the entire album – as in “I Found You In The Jam”, where bassist and drummer converse intimately before opening the discussion to all, engineering the most fabulously bold yet romantic of interactions; and James Maddren’s constant percussive diversity is a delight. Crockatt’s elongated, Shorter-like phrases in “Breath”, supported by the Debussyian wonder of Downes’ piano, reveal shimmering watercolor hues; and purposeful “A Stroll On The Knoll” combines the buoyant accessibility of a classic compositional Herbie Hancock riff with the scintillating, gruff tenor abandon of Sonny Rollins.
With this recording project, the satisfaction for Sam Crockatt has been the ability of his personnel to build on initial (sometimes sparse) compositional threads to weave together an album which coruscates with improvisational clarity and which melds so incisively: “I like to think as texturally as I can – hearing various melodies over and over in my head – to achieve as many combinations of sound as I can. And I know these guys will take my ideas off into new areas.” It’s clearly that musical trust, and the collective ingenuity, which ignites the magic of this quartet.
Track Listing:
1. Canon 7:25
2. The Masterplan 5:40
3. I Found You In The Jam 7:17
4. Mells Bells 6:31
5. Breath 4:52
6. A Stroll On The Knoll 5:21
7. Tiny Steps, Top Of The Mountain 6:37
8. The Land That Time Forgot 8:43
All compositions by Sam Crockatt
Personnel:
Sam Crockatt: tenor saxophone
Kit Downes: piano
Oli Hayhurst: double bass
James Maddren: drums
Recorded June 21, 2014, at Eastcote Studios, London, by Philip Bagenal
Mixed by Alex Bonney, London October 2014
Mastered by Tyler McDiarmid, NYC September 2015
Produced by Sam Crockatt
Executive Producer: Michael Janisch
Review:
The first chiming notes of Canon are an arresting opening to this dynamic and engaging album from saxophonist Sam Crockatt’s formidable quartet. The tenor’s phrase is echoed first by Kit Downes on piano, then Oli Hayhurst’s bass, followed by James Maddren’s drums before they accelerate and the band burst into life with an expansive solo from Downes over a restless groove from Maddren and Hayhurst.
The whole set is bubbling with energy and momentum. Crockatt’s compositions make the most of finely crafted and distilled ideas. Masterplan ups the temperature, a rollicking, shuffling, rocky groover launched by a theme full of snappy hooks and hits. The leader builds a storming solo from first, bluesy fragments, then spiralling runs, really digging into the groove. Downes is constantly goading and playing off him, before letting rip. I found you in the Jam unfolds from a declamatory, rubato theme, with first the piano then the tenor leading the whole band through a collective clattering lament. Mells Bells is built round a frenetic, spiralling figure spinning off into tumult, Maddren whipping it along with a boiling, relentless, barrage. Breath is tense and suspenseful, full of beautifully judged hesitations and delicate phrases. A Stroll on the Knoll is a trio take making the most of the gutsy roar and bite in Crockatt’s sound, a propulsive, impassioned performance with motifs and phrases changing shape as Hayhurst and Maddren follow every step of his jagged rythmic phrasing. The Land That Time Forget evolves more slowly from another ear tweaking, melodic phrase into a rolling climatic piece, Downes letting fly again with dazzling melodic flights.
This an excellent set from a quartet who are finely tuned to each other’s every move. It has the immediacy and vibrancy of a live performance and Sam Crockatt’s eight originals are a great vehicle for their melodic fluency and invention. Go and see this band.
Mike Collins (LondonJazz News)
